Weather brings traffic misery

THE May Day Bank Holiday turned into a Mayday distress signal for some as heavy rain and winds gusting up to 80mph caused widespread disruption.

Many of Swansea’s busiest roads saw heavy traffic as poor driving conditions coincided with the bank holiday rush.

A yellow Met Office weather warning was in place for much of Wales and the alert was set to continue into most of today.

Driving conditions were described as hazardous, with falling trees being report on many roads.

Severe delays were reported between St Clears and Carmarthen on the A40, with a journey which normally takes 10 minutes taking up to an hour.

The Met Office reported an area of low pressure bringing strong winds, rain and travel chaos to the UK.

BBC Wales weatherman Derek Brockway said that it was “one of the coldest early May bank holidays on record”.

Tourist hotspots such as Mumbles and Gower were virtually deserted.

Pubs and restaurants, just days into their reopening schedules, were forced to abandon plans for outside catering.

Gower Road (A4118) in Sketty, Swansea, was closed in both directions due to strong winds and a fallen tree.

On the M48 Severn Bridge, a speed limit of 40mph was set and closures put in place “in case vehicles get blown into adjacent lanes,” according to traffic monitors.

Traffic problems and added journey times of up to an hour were being reported on a number of roads yesterday afternoon due to “bank holiday traffic on the move,” according to traffic monitoring system Inrix. Problem routes included:

■ M4 Swansea: Slow traffic eastbound from J47 Penllergaer to J43 Llandarcy

■ A40 St Clears: Traffic easing after severe delays from bank holiday traffic yesterday afternoon

■ A48 Porthyrhyd, Carmarthenshire: Heavy traffic from A48 Porthyrhyd to A476 Cross Hands Road.

Strong winds were expected to continue sweeping eastwards across Wales through this morning.