Storm Ciara Rain and winds wreak havoc across city
FLIGHTS were cancelled and travel was disrupted as gales and heavy rain struck the region in the biggest storm to hit Bristol in seven years.
Fire crews attended a number of incidents yesterday, including a collapsed wall in Thornbury and a “dangerous” pub sign in Bedminster.
Residents in Bedminster were advised to stay indoors after high winds caused scaffolding to become unsafe.
York Road was closed by emergency services, and residents in
Cutters Row and St Luke’s Court were advised to stay in their homes.
Avon Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene to make the structure safe.
Easyjet flights from Bristol Airport to Newcastle, Blefast, Glasgow and Amsterdam were all cancelled.
Passengers were told to check with their airlines before travelling, with delays and disruption expected.
A spokesperson for the airport said: “The Met Office have issued an amber warning for wind from 8am to 9pm. This may cause some disruption to travel by road and air.
“Please allow time for your journey to the airport and check with your airline before travelling.”
Last night there were further delays on flights from Alicante, Bucharest, Krakow, Paris, Dublin and Madrid.
There was major disruption on train journeys to London after a fallen tree on the line between Reading and London Paddington caused a loss of power on the electrified line. There was a rail replacement service in place.
The M5 was closed southbound yesterday morning at Tewkesbury due to an unsafe gantry, according to the traffic information service Inrix.
The M48 Severn Bridge was also closed due to high winds, with traffic diverted to the M4 Prince of Wales bridge, while flooding saw the M5 Gloucester sliproad closed at Junction 12, causing congestion heading south on the motorway.
The A369 between Ashton Court and Portishead junction 19 of the M5 was blocked completely last night because of a fallen tree, between Pill Road and Happerton Lane.
There was also a tree down near the Willy Wicket pub on the Avon Ring Road, and Severn Road in Hallen was partially blocked because of a crash.
NS Travel and Roads Twitter account posted an image of a fallen tree blocking the road at Belmont Hill junction with Flax Bourton Road.
It reported early yesterday morning that the road would remain closed for “a couple of hours” while crews worked to clear the way.
Meanwhile, over at Stoke Gifford Stadium, yesterday’s Bristol City Women’s football match against Reading was cancelled due to ‘deteriorating’ weather conditions, according to the club’s Twitter account.
Bristol will continue to be battered by the remnants of Storm Ciara today, according to the Met Office forecast.
An amber weather warning for strong winds remained in force until 8am today, but the rest of the day will be wet and windy too.
The Met Office forecast were predicting that the start of today would be thankfully dry, with
❝ The Met Office has issued an amber warning for wind. This may cause some disruption to travel by road and air.
overnight rain petering out by around 6am and dawn coming above a cloudy sky.
Temperatures are likely to be around 6C but will feel nearer 1C thanks to a stiff westerly wind gusting up to 36mph.
But there will be a sting in the tail from Storm Ciara as another band of heavy rain rolls over Bristol from mid-morning.
Further very heavy and persistent rain was forecast from around 11am onwards and the wind was due to pick up once again – gusting up to 50mph over lunchtime and into the afternoon.
The rain will continue with a few breaks, maybe, into the night, with a further heavy burst around 8pm, and showers up until midnight.
Tomorrow looks like being a much more benign day, with sunshine and showers, albeit still very windy.
Met Office spokesperson