Nose-to-tail nightmare
And it’ll be one of the coldest August bank holidays ever
FRUSTRATED motorists were trapped in a 70-mile queue on one motorway yesterday as bank holiday chaos hit Britain’s roads.
Staycationers rushed to the country’s beauty spots ahead of the three-day weekend.
But those who braved the jams might be wondering whether it was worth it. There was flash flooding in Devon, Cornwall and Hampshire, while some beaches in Dorset were all but abandoned.
And forecasters added to the gloom by warning that it will be one of the coldest August bank holidays ever. Daytime temperatures are expected to be barely into double figures in some areas today amid strong northerly winds.
Holidaymakers travelling through the South-West were caught in a huge jam on the M5 between Exeter and Taunton yesterday evening.
Queues stretched for 70 miles on part of the northbound carriageway, while those travelling southbound were faced with delays of up to two hours.
Traffic backed up on the M25 around London, while travellers on the M4 near Bristol and near Newport were also delayed, with jams also being seen on the A38 in Devon, the A303 near Stonehenge and the A35 between Exeter and Bournemouth.
With tourism bosses stating the South-West was already at full capacity, anyone without a confirmed booking was being urged to stay away. The RAC said it expected record-breaking traffic as families take to the roads over the long weekend – despite the bleak weather warning.
Some of the coldest daytime temperatures are likely to be in the Pennines, where it could be only a chilly 10C (50F) today.
The lowest daytime maximum temperature for an August bank holiday weekend was 9.1C (48F) in Morayshire, Scotland, on August 28, 2011. Scarborough in North
Yorkshire is likely to hit a maximum of just 13C (55F) this afternoon, which will feel like 8-9C (4648F) due to strong northerly winds reaching 28mph.
It is also due to be cloudy with rain at times across the east of the country today, although sunny spells are forecast further west.
And the Met Office said high pressure is due to build through the weekend bringing ‘plenty of sunshine’ and lessening winds. It added, howver, that later in the week parts of Britain could be hit by the remnants of Hurricane Laura, which has brought devastation to the American states of Louisiana and Arkansas, leaving six dead.