Storm Ashley latest: 100 flood alerts across UK after River Severn bursts banks and thousands without power
Met Office weather warning also remains in force on Monday morning after Scotland pummelled with 111mph gusts
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More than 100 flood warnings are still in place across the UK as Storm Ashley has battered parts of the country with hurricane-force winds and torrential rain.
The Environment Agency had 45 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, in place across England on Monday, including along the south Cornwall coast and large parts of the River Severn, after the river burst its banks, submerging the town of Worcester, the previous day.
A further 96 places were kept on high alert overnight with possible flooding – while, in Scotland, the Scottish Environment Flood Agency had 47 flood warnings in place, with eight issued by Natural Resources Wales.
Tens of thousands of homes remained without power in Ireland on Sunday night, after the first named storm of the season swept across the island, causing outages for as many as 53,000 households earlier in the day.
Storm Ashley also brought travel chaos over the weekend as dozens of flights were cancelled and diverted at airports including Belfast, Edinburgh and Glasgow, while debris and uprooted trees caused havoc on parts of the rail network.
As the storm passed over the Scottish Highlands on Sunday night, average wind speeds hit 85mph with gusts of at least 111mph provisionally recorded at the summit of Cairn Gorm.
A yellow weather alert for wind, issued by the Met Office, remains in place until 9am on Monday morning across the north and east of Scotland and northeast.
Eight flood warnings and 12 alerts in Wales
Natural Resources Wales has warned that flooding is expected in eight areas of the country, with lesser alerts issued – meaning flooding is possible – in a further 12 locations.
In Scotland, 47 flood warnings and a further 10 alerts have been issued, while England’s Environment Agency has issued 45 flood warnings and 96 alerts.
That brings the total across the three countries to 100 flood warnings and a further 118 alerts.
Hurricane-force winds and gusts of 111mph in Scottish Highlands
Hurricane-force winds have been recorded in the Scottish Highlands, with gusts of up to 111mph at the summit of Cairn Gorm and 109mph at the peak of Aonach Mor, according to the Met Office.
Average wind speeds hit a hurricane-force 85mph at the observation station at Bealach Na Ba, near Applecross, and 81mph at Cairn Gorm.
Fire sparked after Storm Ashley brings down electrical cables
Cork City Fire Brigade have shared footage of a fire sparked during Storm Ashley, as powerful winds brought down trees and electrical cables.
Giant moon replica installed on water in Somerset town deflates in ‘extreme weather’
A giant replica of the moon installed on a historic waterway in a Somerset town has deflated in the “extreme” winds brought by Storm Ashley.
The ‘Fallen Moon’ installation by Bristol-based artist Luke Jerram had “captivated” visitors and drawn more than 10,000 visitors to Bridgwater Docks since being unveiled on Tuesday, Bridgwater Town Council said.
But having “clearly brought joy and astonishment to so many” in the days since opening, the council lamented on Sunday that the installation may have been brought to an untimely end.
You can read more in this report:
Giant moon replica installed at Bridgwater deflates in ‘extreme weather’
Installation by artist Luke Jerram has ‘brought joy and astonishment’ in recent days, drawing 10,000 visitors to Bridgwater Docks
Car pictured carried away by high tides in Northern Ireland
A car appears to have been picked up by high tides on the coast in County Down.
Report of tree falling on overhead train line near Port Glasgow
Network Rail Scotland has responded to multiple instances of debris blown onto overhead railway lines in western Scotland.
Its engineers were called to reports of a tree on the overhead wires between Bishopton and Port Glasgow, after earlier working to remove debris on the overhead wires at Troon on the Glasgow Central to Ayr line.
Waves breach sea wall and douse overhead train lines in North Ayrshire
Network Rail Scotland has shared footage of large waves breaching the sea wall and dousing the overhead wires at Saltcoats in North Ayrshire earlier today.
Wind gusts exceed 100mph in Scottish Highlands
Wind gusts exceeding 100mph have been reported in the Scottish Highlands.
102mph gusts were recorded at the Cairn Gorm summit, which saw hurricane-force wind speeds of 84mph on Sunday morning.
The Bealach Na Ba observation station near Applecross saw gusts of 96mph.
Gusts of 99mph were forecast to hit the station at the summit of Aonach Mor, just two miles from Ben Nevis.
Thousands without power in Northern Ireland.
In Northern Ireland, NIE Networks said that at 5.30pm approximately 4,000 customers were without power in outages that hit as Storm Ashley batters the region.
Power had been restored to around 2,000 customers who had lost supply, NIE Networks said.
In the Republic of Ireland, ESB Networks said 53,000 customers were without power shortly after 5pm on Sunday. Mayo, Galway, Sligo, Clare, Cork, Kerry and Dublin were the worst affected counties.
RNLI issues warning over Blackpool Promenade
The RNLI has warned people to “stay safe and stay away” from Blackpool Promenade.
A statement on the lifeboat charity’s Facebook read: “The Met Office currently have the North West under a weather warning, and this especially includes the Blackpool and Fylde Coast with winds in excess of 60 miles per hour later in the day.
“The specific concern for the Blackpool coast is the high spring tides at 1.28pm today and 1.50am Monday morning, and potential flood risk to the Promenade area.
“The marine forecast for the Irish Sea for this time is for a mainly southwest wind, force 7 to severe gale 9, increasing storm 10 for a time, decreasing 5 to 7 later.
“Blackpool RNLI is making preparations at the Lifeboat Station to secure equipment and the boat house, and the volunteer crews urge everyone tostay off the Promenade around these tide times, especially the sea wall areas for your own safety.”
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