Travel Chaos in The UK for Monday 28th

Matt Taylor has more on what we can expect from Monday’s storm and the areas most likely to be affected by strong winds and heavy rain.

Commuters are being warned of travel disruption on Monday as a storm bringing hurricane-force winds and rain starts moving across England and Wales.

Three train companies have advised against travel in the morning and others warn of rush hour disruption.

Gusts of up to 80mph (130km/h) are predicted as the weather hits the South West then moves north and eastwards and there are fears of flooding and damage.

The Prime Minister has chaired talks about plans to protect the public.

In the conference call, joined by staff from organisations including the Met Office and the environment and highways agencies, Mr Cameron heard the storm could have a "widespread impact", his spokesman said.

But he was told there were plans in place to minimise the effect on public services such as schools, the NHS, transport and power supplies.

In other developments:

South West Trains passengers have been advised not to travel on Monday with most services not running until at least 08:00 GMT to allow Network Rail to check the lines. A reduced timetable will be in operation with journey times extended as some trains are limited to speeds of 50mph
Airports including Heathrow and Gatwick are warning of possible disruption to flights and advising passengers to check with airlines before starting journeys
Eight Aer Lingus flights between Ireland and London Heathrow have been cancelled because of the severe weather
Eurostar says it will not be running trains on Monday until 07:00 GMT, with early services from London and Brussels subject to delays of at least an hour and all morning departures operating with speed restrictions
The Environment Agency issued three flood warnings for West Bay Harbour, Lyme Regis Harbour and Chiswell in Dorset for the early hours of Monday morning due to the winds, large waves and strong swell expected
The Highways Agency is advising motorists to check the weather forecast and road conditions before they travel and to delay journeys if the weather becomes severe
The A249 Sheppey Crossing in Kent is closed due to strong winds
East Sussex County Council says refuses collections have been suspended on Monday because of the safety risk posed by the winds

Clearing debris

Other rail operators have also already announced revised timetables.

These include First Capital Connect and C2C – which have also advised against travel on Monday – and says services are unlikely to begin until 09:00 GMT. Greater Anglia, Southern and Gatwick Express services all say they will not run services on Monday until it is declared safe to do so.

London Overground also said it will not run a service on Monday before 09:00 GMT, while First Great Western has warned of extended travelling times and Southeastern says it is likely to start running services later in the morning.

Several ferry companies have also cancelled services, including some English Channel and Irish Sea crossings.

The Met Office said 20-40mm (0.80-1.6 ins) of rain might fall within six to nine hours in the wettest areas.

Just before 18:00, the Met Office said in a tweet: "Rain associated with tonight’s storm now moving across southern counties of England & Wales."

The Met Office said the predicted storm – named St Jude after the patron saint of depression and lost causes, whose feast day is on Monday – was not one "you would see every year".

It has issued an amber alert for high winds in Wales, the East and West Midlands, the South West, London and the South East and the East of England.

A yellow alert warning of heavy rain that could lead to surface water flooding and disruption is in place across much of northern Wales and northern England.

An amber warning means "be prepared", while yellow means "be aware". No warnings are currently in place at the top red level, which means "take action".

Forecasters said exposed coasts in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex and Kent could face the strongest winds.

The Environment Agency has warned of the possibility of surface water flooding on Monday, but currently assesses it as a "low risk".

A spokesman said teams were working to minimise river flood risk, clearing debris from streams and unblocking culverts.

BBC Weather presenter Nick Miller said the storm was in a "developing and deepening" area of low pressure in the Atlantic which developed off the east coast of the US.

He said there were "still some uncertainties" about how strong the winds would be, but a band of heavy rain across England and Wales would result in standing water and spray during rush hour on Monday.

The full force of the storm is expected to reach the South West in the early hours of Monday and should have moved across the country to the North Sea by lunchtime.

Northern Ireland and Scotland are expected to be spared the worst of the weather.

High winds have already been reported in some areas, with a wind turbine collapsing in Devon on Saturday night.

More than 1,000 homes are without power in Pangbourne, Berkshire, after a falling tree reportedly brought down a power line.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-24690552

(Copyright BBC – just posted here to spread the word to anyone who needs to know!)