Storm Darragh latest: Winter Wonderland to shut amid 90mph winds and rare Met Office red weather warning – UK Times

Change your plans accordingly if in an area subject to red or amber warnings, a Met Office forecaster has advised.

Meteorologist Alex Deakin said: “The main advice, particularly if you’re in the amber or red area, is just think about what your plans are for this weekend and change them accordingly.

“But even if you’re in the yellow warning area there are going to be issues with lots of people out and about, it’s a Saturday before Christmas, so again just think about what your plans are, make sure you’re across the warnings. They’re being tweaked all the time.”

National Rail has explained why rain and high winds can cause issues on the rail network.

Its website outlines three reasons delays occur.

• Heavy rain can “flood tracks meaning trains run at severely reduced speeds or are unable to run at all”.
• Water can “displace the ballast leading to potential track defects or landslips”.
• Flooding can “damage points and signalling equipment which means trains cannot move from one track to another”.

National Rail has warned that there will be “significant disruption” to rail services this weekend.

The rail company said on its website: “From this evening, Storm Darragh is expected to bring significant disruption with heavy rain and wind. Please check your journey in full before travelling as it may mean last services of the day are cancelled and you may not reach your destination.”

It advises those who are considering travelling to check their journey online.

Traffic Wales will close parts of the A55, A5 and A483 roads, Traffic Wales says.

The body post on X: “A55 Britannia Bridge will close to all vehicles due to extremely high winds 07/12 from 2:00 until winds have eased at approx. 12:00.”

In a later post, it said: “Based on current forecasts the A5 Ceiriog & A483 Dee Viaducts will close between 07/12 06:00 and approximately 21:00 because of severe winds.”

Around three million people in Wales and south-west England have been sent an emergency alert by the government with Storm Darragh set to batter the UK on Saturday.

In the largest ever real-life use of the alert system, the government warned people of a risk of a “danger to life” as a result of “flying debris, falling trees and large waves around coastal areas” on Saturday.

The “severe alert” made a siren noise for around 10 seconds to warn people within the area set to be worst affected by Storm Darragh.

A rare red weather warning has been issued by the Met Office for Saturday. Life-threatening 90mph winds are expected to strike Wales and parts of southwestern England, along with a likelihood of significant disruption to travel and damage to buildings and homes.

The Met Office has shared it’s latest updates on Storm Darragh’s impact over the weekend.

Here’s what Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said:

The worst impacts from Storm Darragh will be felt as we go through the early hours of tomorrow morning and throughout Saturday with, in addition to the broad yellow warning, red and amber wind warnings in place from 1 am tomorrow.

In the red warning area, we could see wind gusts of up to 90 miles per hour along the coasts of west and south Wales as well as funnelling through the Bristol Channel, with some very large waves on exposed beaches.

Although there is a lower likelihood of impacts outside of the red and amber warning areas this doesn’t mean you won’t see them.

We are likely to see impacts across the whole of the country and people should keep an eye on the latest forecast details and prepare for the bad weather, especially if planning to be out and about on Saturday.

Some areas are likely to have a relatively quiet start to Saturday, weather-wise, but winds will quickly increase from the west through the day.

A rare red warning for wind has been issued by the Met Office as Storm Darragh hits the UK.

Here, we explain what it means.

A weather warning is issued by the Met Office through the National Severe Weather Warning Service.

The aim is to keep people safe by warning what severe weather is in store and what the impacts may be.

Nine flood warnings and 164 flood alerts are in place across England, Scotland and Wales.

A flood warning means flooding is expected so people in the area should “act now”. It is the second most severe out of three tier to the flood warning system.

A flood alert, the least severe tier, means flooding is “possible” and advises people to “be prepared”.

England’s Environment Agency has issued eight flood warnings and 116 flood alerts, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has issued one warning and 11 alerts, and Natural Resources Wales has issued 37 alerts.

You can check if your area is at risk of flooding using the below links:

As Storm Darragh batters the UK, here’s a reminder of how and why storms get their names: