A hard rain’s gonna fall
New Year flood warning as Storm Dylan leaves UK blowin’ in the wind
THE times they are a changing, and as we see out 2017 Storm Dylan will be blowing in the wind and the rain to make New Year’s Eve a washout for millions of revellers.
The Met Office is warning of torrential rain and flooding over this weekend.
And travellers trying to reach loved ones for tomorrow’s celebrations face cancellations and transport delays because of high winds and rail strikes.
Many northern areas were blanketed in snow yesterday, while the south had heavy rain with thunder and lightning.
Temperatures are set to rise slightly, but a yellow warning has been issued for heavy rain from 6pm today to 9am on Sunday across much of south-east Wales, south western, central and southern parts of England.
Emma Sharples from the Met Office said: “With the ground very wet in these this is likely to lead to rising water levels and some flooding in places.”
Almost 5cm of rain could fall in some areas tomorrow morning.
A yellow warning for wind, covering Northern Ireland and southern Scotland, is also in place from around 12am on Sunday to 3pm, as Storm Dylan smashes in from the Atlantic.
Ms Sharples said there was a “small chance of damage to buildings, with the potential for injuries and danger to life from flying debris”. Road, rail, air and ferry services could be affected, and there could be power cuts.
Western Power Distribution said more than 1,900 homes across the Midlands, South West and Wales were without power yesterday.
Further north, snow caused disrupareas, tion across Yorkshire, the North West, North East and parts of Scotland.
Glasgow had more than 10cm of snow and the city’s airport, one of Scotland’s busiest, temporarily suspended flights.
The RAC dealt with one breakdown every 10 seconds yesterday morning, while the AA said it had received more than 1,687 breakdown calls before 10am.
Drivers were also warned to take care today as a yellow warning is in place for ice across the north of England and Scotland until 12pm.
New Year’s Eve rail travel is set to be disrupted because of fresh strikes in long-running disputes over the role of guards on trains and working hours.
Members of the RMT on South Western Railway and CrossCountry will walk out for 24 hours tomorrow, with more strikes planned for January.