Western Morning News (Saturday)
West will bear brunt of storm
THE coasts of Devon and Cornwall will bear the brunt of a major storm brewing in the Atlantic and due to hit the UK on Sunday, the Met Office warned yesterday.
Spokesman Grahame Madge said Storm Freya was developing “quite rapidly” to the south and west of the country.
He added that gusts of 55mph to 65mph are “likely quite widely within the warning area” – which includes the South West.
He said there was the potential for isolated gusts to reach 70 and 80mph.”
The storm follows the warmest February on record.
MARCH is coming in like a lion, with Storm Freya set to bring strong winds, dangerous conditions and travel disruption to the South West this weekend, after February’s record-breaking high temperatures and sunshine.
The Exeter-based Met Office predicts the storm will hit on Sunday afternoon and be severe enough to risk injuries and danger to life from flying debris and large waves.
The forecast is in keeping with the expression ‘in like a lion, out like a lamb’, describing March weather as typically starting out with a roar before ending on a gentler note.
The Met Office says Storm Freya could damage buildings and trees, with travel disruption and power cuts possible. Its warning – which runs from 3pm tomorrow until 6am on Monday – covers large parts of the country including South West England, Wales, the Midlands, northern England and parts of southern Scotland.
Gusts between 55 and 65mph can be expected, with wind speeds reaching up to 80mph in coastal areas.
The Met Office warns road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible, and some roads and bridges may have to close.
Last month saw a new UK record for the highest average maximum temperature for February, according to provisional figures from the Met Office.
The average daily peak was 10.0C, beating the previous record of 9.8C, which was set in 1998.
The Met Office also said that the average mean temperature for February was 6.0C – the second warmest on record.
The unseasonably warm weather prompted birds to try nesting, but- terflies to emerge and hedgehogs to come out of hibernation early, according to wildlife experts.
The Woodland Trust’s Nature’s Calendar scheme, which asks the public to track signs of the seasons, has been receiving unusually early records of spring events this winter, with trees including field maples and European larches bursting into bud early.
The latest bout of warm weather has seen more than 250 records of brimstone butterflies emerging in February. The butterfly normally comes out around March or April, the Trust said.
Abi Bunker, director of conserva- tion and external affairs at the Woodland Trust, said: “The Nature’s Calendar project is more than just spotting the seasons; data sent in by members of the public enables greater understanding of the repercussions climate change has for our beloved flora and fauna, and of the need to act to tackle global warming and other threats to our wildlife.”
Dr Jo House, from the University of Bristol, said a changing climate “can put nature’s cycles out of sync” and added that a fall in temperatures and a return to cold wet weather in March could hit flowering plants and insects, affecting food for early migratory birds.