Britain to be battered by 50mph winds and heavy rain as weather ‘goes downhill’
Storms cause Cop26 chaos: Thousands of delegates stranded as ALL trains are cancelled out of London Euston as torrential rain, 80mph gale-force winds and TORNADOES batter Britain
Winds up to 80mph are causing travel chaos and flooding across parts of the UK with further rain to come Hundreds of passengers are stuck at London Euston with all trains cancelled after tree fell on overhead wiresThe passengers, many of whom are trying to reach Glasgow for the Cop26 summit, say it is ‘ironic’ their journeys were disrupted by stormy weatherMet Office unable to rule out whether any tornadoes have taken place following reports of wind damage
<!–
<!–
<!–<!–
<!–
(function (src, d, tag){
var s = d.createElement(tag), prev = d.getElementsByTagName(tag)[0];
s.src = src;
prev.parentNode.insertBefore(s, prev);
}(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/1.17.0/async_bundle–.js”, document, “script”));
<!–
DM.loadCSS(“https://www.dailymail.co.uk/static/gunther/gunther-2159/video_bundle–.css”);
<!–
Hundreds of passengers hoping to travel to Glasgow for the Cop26 climate summit by train have been left waiting inside London’s Euston station after a fallen tree halted services.
Just before 2pm no Sunday, an announcement in the station revealed all train services had been suspended and the concourse was ‘exit only’ due to overcrowding.
Pictures on social media showed the concourse packed with people, many of whom were hoping to travel north for the climate conference which began on Sunday.
The disruption came as a result of damage to overhead electrical wires between Rugby and Milton Keynes on the West Coast Main Line.
Network Rail said its teams are on site near Long Buckby in Northamptonshire, where the damage occurred.
The company said it is working to remove the fallen tree before assessing the damage and beginning repairs.
Travellers are advised not to go to Euston and instead check for regular updates.
Hundreds of passengers hoping to travel to Glasgow for the Cop26 climate summit by train have been left waiting inside London’s Euston station (pictured above)
A passenger reacts whilst waiting in Euston Station after trains were cancelled ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference
Pictures on social media have shown a packed London Euston station after a tree falling caused damage to overhead lines, suspending all trains
Many of the passengers were hoping to travel to Glasgow for the Cop26 climate summit, but have been left stuck in London Euston
Hundreds of passengers await news on when trains will be up and running again. All passengers have been advised not to travel today
Delegates, campaigners and journalists travelling by train to the Glasgow climate conference fell victim to a weather chaos today after a fallen tree on a railway line. Pictured: London Euston is exit only due to overcrowding and suspended services
A Reuters reporter on a cancelled train service said several passengers at London Euston (pictured) had changed their travel plans and were booking flights to Glasgow where the United Nations COP26 climate conference kicks off on Sunday
Pictured: Vehicles travel through standing water during heavy rain in Bromsgrove, in the West Midlands, this morning
Waves crashing by the Porthcawl lighthouse in south Wales on Sunday as strong winds and heavy rain batters the UK
Wind damage has been reported in multiple areas of the UK on Sunday with the Met Office unable to rule out whether any tornadoes have taken place.
Yellow warnings for wind and rain are in place over large parts of the west and elsewhere, and more are likely.
Meteorologist Tom Morgan said: ‘We’ve got a deep Atlantic area of low pressure that’s bringing a very heavy band of rain and squalling winds across the whole of the country, but particularly in the south of England,’ he said.
‘We’ve seen some very strong gusts of wind on the south coast… and a few reports of damage from the winds.
‘It’s not out of the question that there will have been some localised, brief funnel clouds or tornadoes.
‘In the last couple of days we have seen some reports and seen some photos of funnel clouds and water spouts, which are similar to tornadoes.’
He added that wind speeds of 87mph were recorded at an exposed location on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, and there were gusts of 60mph across Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Sussex.
Train passengers trying to reach Glasgow for the Cop26 summit have said it is ‘ironic’ their journeys were disrupted by stormy weather felling a tree onto the railway.
David Johnson was left sitting on his train from London Euston to Glasgow for more than half an hour on Sunday morning before eventually being told to get off along with his fellow passengers.
Mr Johnson is attending Cop26 as chief executive of the Margaret Pyke Trust, a UK-based international NGO focused on removing barriers to family planning as part of climate adaptation efforts.
A car submerged under water at Furnace Grange Road, Wolverhampton, after heavy rains hit the area on Sunday
Vehicles travel through standing water during heavy rain in Bromsgrove, West Midlands, amid weather warnings for rainfall
Needing to reach the conference, Mr Johnson decided to book a flight from Gatwick to Glasgow which, he said, ‘does, of course, seem ridiculous’.
‘The irony of the climate impacting the trains, meaning a flight to the climate change conference is the only way to get there today, is not lost on me,’ he said.
Climate change scientist Simon Lewis said he has been stuck on a train for more than three hours as a result of the weather disruption on his way to Cop26.
The 49-year-old professor, from University College London, was on the 11am service from London to Edinburgh but has been stuck since 11:45am as a result of trees felled by the wind.
‘We are moving a tiny bit every now and again, but have not made it to Peterborough yet, the first stop,’ he said.
‘This is inconvenient and a reminder that climate change drives extreme weather events and every country needs to adapt.
A dog walker struggles through winds and rain in Wimbledon Common. The Met Office warned winds could reach 70mph
Heavy downpours: A yellow weather warning is in place across several areas of the UK, including most of the south, where walkers at Wimbledon Common, in London, were pictured struggling with an umbrella amid heavy rain and high winds
‘But a stopped train is nothing compared to the two million people displaced by flooding in Shanxi province in China, last month, and those facing famine today in Madagascar.’
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for large parts of the country the south and north west of England and eastern Scotland.
The warnings mean that some flooding is likely and drivers have been warned to expect standing water on roads, meaning journey times could be impacted.
One resident in Amesbury, Wiltshire, thought they had witnessed a ‘hurricane’ hit the area after spotting bins flying and trees breaking due to the powerful winds.
Infectious disease ecologist Dr Emma Gillingham tweeted: ‘Did a hurricane just hit Amesbury, Wiltshire? Incredible wind suddenly from nowhere, trees breaking, wheelie bins flying and all calm again now.’
Inspecting the damage: High winds in the south left several trees uprooted in parts of Bournemouth this morning
Pictured: tree crashed through a garden wall in Bournemouth after the UK was battered by high winds and heavy downpours
Dramatic scenes in Bournemouth as strong winds and heavy rain brought down trees in usually quiet residential streets
Broken trees and a bin blown across a residential street in Amesbury, Wiltshire, as strong winds and heavy rain batter the UK
The infectious disease ecologist thought she had witnessed a hurricane, such was the strength of the wind and rain
However, the Met Office said it believed the ‘hurricane’ was in fact a ‘squall’, the name for a ‘sudden, sharp increase in wind speed lasting minutes’.
Northamptonshire Police said they had received a high number of calls relating to the weather conditions and that trees had fallen on scores of roads in the county.
Reverend Richard Coles, vicar of Finedon, took to social media after a blustery close call.
He tweeted: ‘We were just praying for the COP26 conference in church when we were hit by what I can only describe as a tornado, which took out a number of trees including this pre Conquest yew.’
South Western Railway has also apologised to customers after trees blocked part of the network, saying there may be cancellations, delays and alterations to services.
It comes as three people are feared to have drowned and another is fighting for their life after they were swept off their paddleboards when a sudden storm turned a flooded river into a torrent on Saturday night.
The three, part of an organised outing, had been in the water only minutes when they were hit by a deluge of rushing water as they paddled near a weir on the swollen river in Pembrokeshire.
They were swept from their boards and seen ‘in distress’ in the River Cleddau, near the town centre of Haverfordwest.
Emergency services at the River Cleddau in Haverfordwest, Wales, on Saturday, where at least three people were on their boards on a usually calm stretch of the river when they were hit by a huge deluge of flood water
Rescue teams searching for paddle boarders at the River Cleddau today. It comes amid warnings to be careful of dangerous ‘fast flowing and deep floodwaters’
Steven Keats, meteorologist, said conditions would begin ‘going downhill’ on Sunday.
Strong gusts coming from the west will brought a ‘wild start’ to the day, with potential for further disruption and wet weather going into the first week of November, according to the Met Office.
The yellow weather warning is also in place for Glasgow, where the global Cop26 climate conference begins today.
He added: ‘Further West heavy rain will be picking up and there’ll be some heavy rain coming in from the Atlantic.
‘That will dominate the weather into tomorrow.
‘Heavy rain will push across into…western parts of England and Wales and be accompanied by some pretty strong and gusty winds.’
He continued: ‘Given the fact that trees are in full leaf and the ground is pretty saturated in many areas, you could get one or trees coming down.
‘It’s going to be very unsettled.’
Mr Keats said declining temperatures throughout next week would bring a ‘seasonal’ feel and that weather would remain ‘unsettled’, though risks of ‘hefty downpours’ remained.
‘The most disruptive potential from the weather will be in the next 24 to 36 hours’, he said.
