Balmy days blown away by Storm Doris
THE early taste of spring enjoyed over the past few days will be swept away tomorrow by 80mph gales and snow.
Storm Doris is due to hit England and Wales, threatening damage to buildings and disruption to power supplies.
The high winds will mix with rain in most places, but in Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Northumberland there is also the chance of up to 4in of snow. The Met Office has issued an amber ‘be prepared’ warning for hurricane- force winds between 6am and 6pm.
It follows an unseasonably balmy spell, which saw the UK enjoy its hottest day of the year so far on Monday with a high of 18.3C (65F) in London – hotter than Ibiza – compared to the February average for England and Wales of 7.2C (45F).
The Met Office said: ‘The gales are being caused by a deepening area of low pressure which is going to move eastwards across the country through Thursday. The winds are likely to be of the sort of strength which could result in damage to buildings and bring disruption to power lines and transport.’
Storm Doris is the first named storm of 2017 and the fourth this winter.
The name was due to be given to a weather system at the start of the month but it petered out. The Met Office said Doris could bring the strongest winds of the year so far for England and Wales, with the current record in 2017 being 81 mph in High Bradfield, Sheffield, on January 11.
In central and southern areas, the storm will continue to bring in mild air from the Atlantic, with temperatures of up to 12C (54F) tomorrow.
The wet and windy weather follows the second driest October to January period since records began in 1910, prompting fears of a possible water shortage in the summer.
In England and Wales, there was an average of 314.8mm (12.4ins) of rainfall over the four months. This was only beaten by the 265.3mm (10.4ins) recorded in 1962/3, and compares with an average of 490.2mm (19.3ins). Jamie Hannaford, of environmen- tal organisation the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, said many rivers, reservoirs and underground aquifers are running well below normal levels and warned there could be a shortage in the summer.
He said: ‘It has certainly been a dry winter and we are tracking the water supply situa- tion closely. It could become problematic if the summer is dry, and even more important if there are two dry winters in a row.’
Individual water companies have confirmed water levels are lower than normal – but said it was too early to talk of hosepipe bans or restrictions, in case supplies are topped-up by rain in the coming weeks.
A spokesman for Water UK, representing Britain’s water companies, said: ‘The Environment Agency, water companies, businesses and farmers are working together to minimise any potential impacts to people and the environment should the dry weather continue. We always advise that everyone use water wisely.’
Once Storm Doris has passed tomorrow night, there could be a ground frost in areas where skies clear, with temperatures falling as low as 0C to 2C (32F to 36F), and Friday is due to be cloudy with the potential for wintry showers in North West England.
‘Prepare for hurricane force winds’