Wild and mild...70mph gales and hottest day of the year!
STORMS packing 70mph winds roared through parts of Britain yester- day – as other areas basked in the hottest day of this year.
A Met Office danger-to-life warning was issued and extended to large areas of the UK over the next two days. Storm Kathleen, the 11th named one of the season, sparked frightening scenes, including passenger planes aborting landings.
Dozens of flights and ferries were also cancelled at the weekend..
Despite the stormy weather, a record 20.9C was recorded in Santon Downham, Norfolk, according to the Met Office – making Saturday the hottest day of 2024 so far.
The Environment Agency put 127 flood and 20 flood alerts in place yesterday and there are multiple yellow wind and rain warnings around the country for tomorrow.
Weather forecasters have warned of potential damage to buildings, power cuts, poor mobile phone coverage and danger from large waves and debris hurled on to seafronts. In Sunderland, a hunt continued last night for a man who got into difficulty on the River Wear on Saturday.
His companion managed to get to safety, but a search involving lifeboats and a helicopter failed to find the missing man. Yesterday, ferries to and from Liverpool, Heysham and Douglas on the Isle of Man, were axed and sea journeys to the Isle of
Wight faced heavy disruption.
In Scotland, four teenage paddle-board- ers were stranded off Cullen Bay, near Moray, at the height of the storm on Saturday afternoon.
The RNLI rescued them after being alerted by Aberdeen Coastguard. RNLI chiefs warned people to check the weather forecast carefully before venturing into the sea, especially to paddle-board.
Pilots of passenger aircraft were forced to abandon landings as Storm Kathleen’s high winds caused runway mayhem. Dramatic videos showed flights into Manchester Airport battling 70mph crosswinds as they came in to land, but some were forced to abort at the last minute. In Ireland, an Aer Lingus jet was filmed bouncing along the runway at Dublin Airport and leaving a trail of smoke as it tried to land in a 73mph gust.
Pockets of air under a young girl’s coat saved her from drowning after she was swept out to sea on Saturday night. RNLI volunteer crewman Andrew Sykes jumped in to rescue her off the east pier of Dun Laoghaire Harbour, near Dublin.
He said the trapped air had been crucial to her survival.
Plane spotter Kay Thompson, 33, from Leeds, shot a video of a plane wobbling in crosswinds as it struggled to make the runway at Leeds Bradford airport on Saturday.
She said: “It’s the highest airport in the UK which is good for planes taking off, but it causes a lot of problems when it’s windy.”
The Met Office said a low pressure system today would cause more wet and windy weather, especially in the South West and Wales. It also warned of possible flooding from coastal gusts and high spring tides.
The conditions will continue tomorrow, with only brief drier spells. Temperatures will be around average, but might turn warmer and more settled in the South by Wednesday.