FAMILIES and visitors are being urged to travel TODAY to avoid New Year’s chaos as the Met Office issued a snow and high wind warning.
Gusts of up to 75mph could hit parts of southern England and Wales on Saturday, the Met Office said.
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Flooding around Tewkesbury Abbey after heavy rain caused by Storm GerritCredit: PA
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Motorists make their way through a flooded road near Ingatestone, EssexCredit: Stephen Huntley/HVC
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Several yellow weather warnings have been issued across the UK for SaturdayCredit: MET Office
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Water is pumped out of a house in York where the River Ouse has continued to riseCredit: LNP
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Storm Gerrit batters the coast at Porthcawl on the South Wales coast this morningCredit: Alamy
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Three men have died after a 4×4 vehicle became trapped in the River EskCredit: PA
A yellow weather warning has been issued for winds covering parts of Wales and eastern England and will come into effect between 11am on Saturday and 3am on Sunday.
A period of strong and gale-force winds will move east across England and Wales, bringing some disruption to travel and services, the forecaster said.
There may also be flooding and traffic disruption in Wales as a yellow warning for rain is in place between 10am and 6pm on Saturday.
The same weather warning will also come into force at 4am on Saturday for Northern Ireland and will remain in place until 11am on the same day.
London North Eastern Railway (LNER), whose services are controlled by the Department for Transport, canceled at least six intercity trains on Friday due to a lack of available staff.
The same reason meant that several other services were seriously delayed or only ran part of their planned route.
A shortage of rail staff in Edinburgh meant that CrossCountry canceled a number of trains to and from the station.
Avanti West Coast has axed several of its services to and from London Euston due to staff shortages.
Northern, which is also government-controlled, said it would not be running on six lines on Sunday – New Year’s Eve – due to “unavailability of train staff”.
The routes affected with the “Do Not Travel” warning link Manchester Victoria with Chester and Stalybridge, Manchester Piccadilly with Chester via Altrincham and Preston with Colne.
There will also be no trains between Morecambe and Lancaster or Clitheroe and Bolton.
Services on other lines will end earlier than usual around 4 p.m.
Some Northern employees only work Sundays as voluntary paid overtime, creating the risk of not having enough available employees to fill a full schedule.
London North Western Rail has warned passengers to “expect congestion and service disruptions on New Year’s Eve”.
It said this was due to “the combined impact of the recent storms across the network, higher than usual rates of sickness absence within our teams, as well as reduced capacity within our weekly schedule”.
The operator canceled all services between Stafford and Crewe and warned that trains on other routes such as between London Euston and Northampton were “subject to change and possible cancellation”.
Chiltern Railways, which operates between London Marylebone and the West Midlands, said a “train staff shortage” meant there was a “high risk of cancellations at short notice and disruption throughout the day on all routes” on Saturday and Sunday.
The LNER also suffered disruption on Friday due to “severe weather”, with high winds affecting parts of the East Coast Main Line.
This meant that the service which was due to run from Aberdeen to London King’s Cross started from Newcastle.
A fault with the signaling system between Newcastle and Berwick-upon-Tweed means some southbound lines are blocked.
This affects LNER, CrossCountry, Lumo and TransPennine Express services.
It came after a supercell thunderstorm swept across North West England yesterday after the same type of storm resulted in a tornado damaging homes in Greater Manchester.
Rail services affected by Storm Gerrit
Bad weather from Storm Gerrit means trains may still be cancelled, delayed by up to 60 minutes or revised.
ScotRail
Aberdeen and Glasgow Queen Street / Edinburgh
Glasgow Central and Oban / Mallaig
Glasgow Central and Carlisle via Dumfries
Inverness and Glasgow Queen Street / Edinburgh
Transport to Wales
Llandudno/Llandudno Junction – Blaenau Ffestiniog
Swansea and Shrewsbury
northern
Do not travel on the routes below on New Year’s Eve (December 31)
- Morecambe/Heysham – Lancaster
- Preston – Colne
- Manchester Victoria – Chester
- Manchester Victoria – Stalybridge
- Manchester Piccadilly – Chester (Via Altrincham)
- Clitheroe – Bolton
A thunderstorm moved east across Morecambe Bay bringing hail, frequent lightning and gale force winds to parts of Lancashire, according to the Met Office.
The forecasting body said the supercell storm crossed Manchester on Wednesday night and had a “strongly rotating updraft”, suggesting a “surface tornado is likely”.
Around 100 properties were damaged by a “localised tornado” in Stalybridge, Tameside.
Meanwhile, residents in the hard-hit village of Carrbrook said homes were in a state of “absolute disaster”.
The Tornado and Storm Research Organization confirmed that the incident was a tornado and gave it an interim maximum damage rating of T5.
The Liberal Democrats have called on the Prime Minister to call a Cobra meeting following the damage caused in the greater Manchester city.
Storm Gerrit also caused power cuts as around 1,500 homes in Scotland experienced a second night without power, while a lightning strike hit supplies in Wales yesterday.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks said it had restored supply to more than 46,000 properties, with people in the North East and Shetland most affected.
They said the remaining homes should be reconnected on Friday with welfare vans serving hot food and drinks to affected customers from 9am.
Director of Operations Andy Smith said: “These have been difficult days for the affected communities and I am grateful for their patience and support as our teams work extremely hard to restore power.”
National Grid UK said 36,000 properties were without power in Ceredigion on Thursday following a lightning strike.
Three men died after their 4×4 vehicle submerged in the River Esk, near Glaisdale, on Thursday, North Yorkshire Police said.
Hayley McCaffer, 40, who lives in Carrbrook, said some of her neighbours’ houses were an “absolute disaster” with roofs missing and cars “crushed”.
The damage will be covered by standard property insurance policies, the Association of British Insurers said.
The Met Office has reported that the worst of Storm Gerrit has passed and the last few days of 2023 are forecast to be unsettled with strong winds, rain and even snow at higher ground.
Bureau of Meteorology chief forecaster Steven Ramsdale said: “Heavy rain will spread across the area except the far north on Saturday, affecting similar areas previously hit by Storm Gerrit.
“However, this rainfall will be a step below that recorded during Storm Gerrit.”
What is the T5 rating?
- Winds of 137-160 mph.
- Heavier motor vehicles (4×4, 4 ton trucks) hovered.
- Wall panels, entire roofs and several rows of bricks on the upper floors removed.
- Items vacuumed from inside the house, including partition walls and furniture.
- Older, weaker buildings are completely demolished.
- The pillars broke.
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Damaged houses in the Stalybridge area of Greater ManchesterCredit: STEVE ALLEN
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A car stands in a flooded parking lot in YorkCredit: LNP
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An Aer Lingus plane drifted sideways while landing at Leeds Bradford AirportCredit: LNP
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A tree fell on a car after a major cell storm crossed Manchester on WednesdayCredit: LNP
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The tractor holds the 4×4 by the strap to keep the vehicle from moving further down the riverCredit: SWNS
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