LONDON -- Britain and Northern Ireland were hit by high winds and widespread flooding Wednesday night and Thursday as a powerful North Atlantic storm system affected the region.
Gusts of almost 100 miles per hour were recorded as the storm, referred to unofficially as Winter Storm Rachel, passed just north of Ireland, causing widespread road and rail disruption and leading to delayed flights in Dublin and London on Wednesday night.
Power lines in Cornwall were down, a rail link in Devon was suspended due to a fallen tree, and there were delays on the cross-channel ferries from Dover.
After several bouts of flooding that saw the River Tone in Somerset burst its banks outside Taunton, waterlogged scenes at Hinton Admiral in Dorset which shut down the rail line to London, and more floods on the A31 in Hampshire, the Environment Agency issued 150 flood alerts and 50 flood warnings Thursday morning.
The latest storm follows a string of rapidly intensifying weather systems that have brought everything from heavy snow to damaging winds to the UK and Ireland during the past few weeks.
Over 150 flood alerts & 50 warnings to start today across England & Wales. Stay #floodaware http://t.co/kFqUxiV3N9 pic.twitter.com/eHLadv8ID9— Dave Throup (@DaveThroupEA) January 15, 2015
In Scotland, both snow and flooding caused problems as dozens of train services were cancelled, while in Northern Ireland over 5,000 homes were left without electricity as gale force winds battered the country.
#scotstorm bad weather continues, our snow patrols & chainsaw gangs are out on the network. Heavy rain causing a few flooding issues.— Network Rail Scot (@NetworkRailSCOT) January 15, 2015
The UK Met Office issued another round of severe weather warnings on Thursday, forecasting colder temperatures that could yield additional rain and snow in the coming days. Icy conditions are expected to become increasingly widespread as temperatures drop this weekend.
Severe weather warnings for wind, rain, ice & #uksnow have been issued. Stay #WeatherAware at http://t.co/ziqeF98g9I pic.twitter.com/OJ9RNmfgYa— Met Office (@metoffice) January 15, 2015
The region may finally catch a break starting early next week, when the Met Office foresees a calmer weather pattern taking hold.
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