80mph gales to wreak havoc on Terrible Tuesday

DRIVERS face a ‘ terrible Tuesday’ today as millions return to work and 80mph gales hit the country.

The AA is expecting one of its busiest days of the year, and anticipates rescuing more than 18,000 drivers.

High levels of traffic are expected as the school run begins and hundreds of miles of roadworks which were lifted by Highways England over the festive period return. Even motorists who are not returning to work are expected to travel to shopping centres and high streets to take advantage of the sales.

Jack Cousens, head of roads policy for the AA, said: ‘Drivers should beware of “terrible Tuesday”.

‘The school run starts again and... people are also taking the opportunity to hit the sales and spend any vouchers they received at Christmas, so queues around major shopping centres could be likely.

‘This, coupled with a traditionally busy day for breakdowns, means people could be unnecessarily delayed, with flat tyres and flat batteries the main culprits.’

Highways England lifted or completed 400 miles of roadworks across England in December, leaving almost 99 per cent of motorways and major A-roads roadworks-free in time for Christmas. But this reprieve ended early this morning, meaning more congestion is expected.

It comes as the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for between 6pm today and 8am tomorrow for north-east and west England, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.

The warning predicts gales with gusts of 60mph to 70mph, while

‘Don’t take storm selfies’

some western coastal areas could see winds of 80mph.

Another yellow weather warning for high winds is in place from just after midnight tonight to 10pm tomorrow, covering the same areas as the previous warning, plus the Midlands, the east of England, London, the South East, the south-west and Wales. Andy Page, the Met Office’s chief forecaster, said: ‘The gales, combined with locally thundery downpours, may make driving difficult and cause some disruption.’

Carol Holt, the Environment Agency’s flood duty manager, said the winds and potential large waves, combined with high tides, could lead to some coastal flooding.

She said the agency’s frontline teams would be out checking defences and may close coastal floodgates.

‘We urge people to stay safe on the coast – take extreme care on coastal paths and promenades and don’t put yourself in unnecessary danger trying to take storm selfies,’ she said. ‘If you’re travelling, please check your route before setting off.’

The Met Office said the unsettled weather was likely to continue for the rest of the week.