UK weather: Brits battered by 90mph Storm Isha winds as Met Office warns 'don't sleep near windows' & trains halted

BRITONS have been hit with 90km/h winds from Storm Isha – with the Met Office warning “don’t sleep near windows”.

Heavy downpours and fierce gales hit the UK, forcing trains and flights to be suspended due to the threat of tornadoes.

Storm Isha is making landings and take-offs difficult at Leeds Bradford Airport todayCredit: NB PRESS LTD

Commuters at Euston station in London after train delays caused by the stormCredit: PA

A woman struggles with an umbrella in windy conditions in Leeds Credit: PA

Early morning walkers get wet as waves crash into Brighton Palace PierCredit: Alamy

Strong winds in Belfast city center caused scaffolding to collapse on SundayCredit: Press Eye

Amber weather warnings carrying ‘danger to life’ cover much of the country until tomorrow

Forecasters warned that coastal areas should continue to expect stormy conditions overnight and into Monday morning.

The country has been blanketed with “unusual” life-threatening warnings amid 90mph winds.

Capel Curig, in Eryri, Wales, had a powerful explosion hit the area this afternoon.

A Met Office spokesman told The Sun: “Capel Curig, in Eryri, is a very exposed site which is known for high winds.

“The wind is spilling into that area.

“It got a wind gust of 90 mph at 3 o’clock this afternoon.”

The Met Office added that “everyone will be affected” by the storm which could have winds of 70mph inland and gusts of 80mph in other parts.

The public has also been warned to prepare for power outages, downed trees and roof tiles – with a “strong tornado” possible.

The Tornado and Storm Research Organization (Torro) on Sunday afternoon issued a “tornado watch” zone for Northern Ireland, as well as parts of Scotland and northern England.

Weather forecaster Marco Petagna said: “There is a possibility that we could see the odd isolated tornado mainly associated with a stormy cold front mainly in western parts of the UK on Sunday night.

“They can cause significant damage, but often at a very localized level, they often don’t last long.”

The transport network will be thrown into chaos, with “longer journey times and likely cancellations” across road, rail, air and ferry services.

A Met Office spokesman added: “The basic message is that it’s best not to travel unless you have to.

“Avoid exposed routes such as higher ground or coastal roads, stick to main routes such as motorways and be careful when passing vehicles with high sides.”

Forecasters had previously issued a yellow warning for rain to affect the whole of the UK, while more severe warnings, this time for wind, affected much of the north and west.

Gusts of up to 85mph are forecast today for everywhere north of Manchester, including the whole of Scotland, as well as much of Wales and the north coast of Devon and Cornwall.

These warnings remain in place until tomorrow, with an additional yellow wind warning activated at midnight for the area between Brighton and Canterbury along much of the south coast.

Travelers are warned not to travel ahead of the Storm as weather conditions worsen.

Rail, sea and air passengers are facing disruption, with closures, cancellations and delays expected across a range of services.

A speed limit of 50mph has been imposed on trains on most routes across the country as a “precautionary measure” by Network Rail.

Many rail lines across Scotland will close on Sunday night, with ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper among those to suspend some services.

Meanwhile, Network Rail Scotland said all passenger and freight services would be suspended from 7pm due to the storm.

Avanti West Coast has issued a travel warning, with trains running at reduced speeds, while TransPennine Express is advising passengers not to use services between Preston and Edinburgh and Preston and Glasgow in the afternoon.

The LNER is advising against travel north of Edinburgh from the afternoon until Monday, while Transport for Wales has canceled a number of services.

East Midlands Rail has already said it expects “significant disruption” to services with almost four inches of rain expected to fall.

Air traffic control restrictions are already in place, leading to the cancellation of some flights.

Motorists are advised not to use roads where possible, especially as many may be closed.

Motorcyclists should be especially careful when riding in strong winds.

Temperatures have changed dramatically over the past 24 hours, with a low of -10.4C recorded in Baltasound, Scotland, before the mercury soared overnight to a high of 10.6C in Magilligan, Northern Ireland.

And warmer conditions are set to remain, with parts of Wales and the south west forecast to reach a high of 12C today.

Unfortunately, however, this is not a pocket of unseasonal sunshine, with the warmth brought on by mild, moist air hitting a cold front that swept across the country last week, bringing stormy showers.

The Environmental Protection Agency currently has 59 active flood warnings, which means that flooding is possible, and 8 flood warnings, which means that they are expected.

The latter cover areas including the upper Avon Valley in Hampshire and the area around the River Nene in Cambridgeshire.

The Scottish Environment Agency has 14 alerts and 10 active alerts, while Natural Resources Wales has one alert relating to Snowdonia National Park.

Next week, a “mix of sunny spells and showers” is expected on Monday, before conditions turn “very wet” again on Tuesday.

Wednesday is forecast to be a drier day, but rain is forecast to return on Thursday and continue to appear in the coming days.

Yellow wind warnings are in place until Wednesday, covering northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Met Office forecaster Ellie Glaisyer said: “The main thing about this storm is that it is very widespread across the UK.

“Quite often we see storms hitting the north-west or southern half of the UK, whereas this one, later on Sunday and into Monday, has the whole of the UK covered by a warning, which is relatively rare.

“In that nature, it’s a very widespread storm and it’s going to hit everybody. Heavy rain is going to hit everybody, and those high winds are going to hit everybody.

“That’s the main difference from previous storms we’ve seen.”