Firefighters rescued campers, police shut roads and rail lines were blocked today as the second named storm of August battered Britain with strong winds and brought a washout end to staycations across the country.
Storm Francis brought gusts of more than 50mph overnight ahead of expected 70mph speeds this morning and a month’s worth of rainfall in just a few hours, causing chaos for commuters and holidaymakers.
Campers – especially those on the last week of the school holidays – faced the threat of trees being uprooted and power lines downed, with fire crews trying to rescue one group staying near a fast-flowing river in South Wales.
Firefighters and two rescue boats were taking part in the rescue attempt at St Clears in Carmarthenshire after the alarm was raised at 7am this morning, while some homes in Llanelli were flooded by ‘about a foot of water’.
Properties were also flooded in Neath, Whitland and Tonyrefail, while the train line between Neath and Cardiff was flooded and a fallen tree at Llanbradach blocked the Caerphilly to Rhymney route.
Police said water on roads in the Bryntirion area of Bridgend was knee deep, a car was stranded in flooding at the 15th century Dipping Bridge at Merthyr Mawr, and a tree blocked a main road in Dunmurry, Belfast.
It comes after chaos in London last night, with drivers forced to wade through waterlogged roads as drains struggled to clear the rain fast enough – and other motorists swerved into the path of oncoming traffic.
Severe wind and rain weather warnings have been put in place by the Met Office for much of the UK today, with the storm arriving from the Atlantic overnight and travelling eastwards before reaching the North Sea tomorrow.
The gusts could cause ‘danger to life’ from flying debris, damage to buildings and disruption to travel services, forecasters said as they issued a wind warning running for 24 hours from 9am this morning.
The rain is expected to be heaviest in Northern Ireland and south-west Scotland, where up to 3.5in (90mm) could fall – well above the monthly August average of 2.8in (70mm) – bringing a risk of localised flooding.
Huge waves hit the North East coast at Seaburn beachfront promenade in Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, this morning
A woman shelters from the heavy rain under an umbrella in Liverpool city centre this morning as Storm Francis hits the UK
Flooding at the 15th century Dipping Bridge in Merthyr Mawr, near Bridgend, South Wales, saw police close the road today
Large waves hit the coast at Porthcawl in South Wales where gusts on exposed coasts and hills are predicted up to 70mph
The wind catches a woman’s hair in London as Storm Francis hit the UK this morning with strong gusts across the country
Heavy rainfall overnight has resulted in flooding on Ouseburn Road in Newcastle-upon-Tyne this morning
A rainbow forms in the distance as waves hit boulders on the shoreline at Westward Ho! in Devon this morning
Carmarthenshire councillor Rob James told BBC Radio Wales’ Breakfast show that there was ‘about a foot of water’ in homes in Llanelli, adding: ‘Drivers need to take care when driving and don’t take any risks.’
Mount Batten in Plymouth and Mace Head in County Galway on the west coast of Ireland both recorded gusts of 51mph overnight, while 30.8mm (1.2in) of rain fell between 5pm and 11pm yesterday in parts of County Kerry.
Fire crews were called to The Square at Bantry in County Cork after flooding, while the Environment Agency issued 17 flood alerts across England, and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency imposed a further ten.
The Met Office imposed multiple weather warnings for today
Alex Deakin from the Met Office said it will be ‘wet and windy for large chunks of the UK’, adding: ‘The bands of rain move into Northern Ireland and stick around, move into Scotland and hang around for most of the day.’
The rain warning – which began at midnight overnight– covers an area in Scotland including the A83 Rest and Be Thankful in Argyll and the railway line south of Stonehaven in Kincardineshire. A ScotRail train was derailed by a landslide near Stonehaven earlier this month, killing three people and injuring six others.
Nicky Maxey from the Met Office said: ‘Since we began naming storms in 2014, we have never had one in August. Now we have two.’
She added: ‘For Scotland and Northern Ireland, the real worry is for the amount of rain which Storm Francis contains. It’s a low-pressure system being fired across the Atlantic by a jet stream running at 120 knots (138mph). It deepens rapidly as it arrives to a position which is pretty strong for this time of year.’
The Met Office said some communities could be cut off by flooded roads and travel services may be badly hit, with parts of Scotland particularly under threat.
ScotRail said it was advising customers to check their journey on its app or website before they travel, while CalMac ferry routes on Scotland’s West Coast were placed on a warning of a ‘heightened risk of disruption’.
A spell of strong winds will develop across the South West of England and Wales this morning (left), before spreading east across other parts of England and Wales overnight, clearing into the North Sea tomorrow (right)
Treacherous driving conditions on the A14 near Cambridge this morning morning as Storm Francis arrives with heavy rain
Lorries travel through treacherous driving conditions on the A14 near Cambridge this morning amid heavy rain
Windsurfers on the sea at Westward Ho! in Devon this morning as winds of up to 70mph are expected along the coast
Although autumn doesn’t begin until September 1, temperatures are set to drop to 16C (61F) to 18C (64F), making it feel cooler than in recent weeks.
The storm is expected to clear by tomorrow lunchtime but forecasters said it is unlikely the heatwaves of earlier in the month will return in time for the bank holiday weekend.
Instead the conditions are likely to be changeable, with a mixture of sunshine and scattered showers for most parts. The bad weather follows a similar spell of unseasonable conditions last week when Storm Ellen hit the UK.
The Met Office has never had two named storms in August since the process started in 2015, but Francis comes on the back of Ellen which struck last week and caused power outages.
It was blamed for several deaths, including that of a seven-year-old who died in Bobbing, Kent, on Friday after being struck by a tree toppled by strong winds.
Heavy rain hits a main road in Peterborough this morning as Cambridgeshire is among the counties hit by Storm Francis
Vehicles drive in spray on the M25 near London Heathrow Airport this morning as Storm Francis hits the UK
Storm Francis engulfs the UK and brings torrential downpours and strong winds, putting the country at risk of flooding
Treacherous driving conditions on the A14 near Cambridge this morning as Storm Francis arrives bringing heavy rain
Flooding this morning at Briton Ferry in Neath, South Wales, as Storm Francis sweeps across parts of Britain
Ellen also saw 15-year-old Nicola Williams swept to her death in the Rhymney River in Llanrumney, Cardiff, and a 50-year-old holidaymaker die in the sea near Helston, west Cornwall, after getting into difficulties.
Meanwhile Mark Spence, 47, was also killed after being struck by debris as he slept when the chimney stack was blown through the roof of his home, in Bradford, West Yorkshire, on Sunday.
Rod Dennis, spokesman for RAC Breakdown, said the storm could cause problems for those on the roads over the next 24 hours. ‘Drivers look set for yet more miserable conditions in the run-up to the bank holiday,’ he said.
‘At the very least, surface spray on the roads will be a problem, but if conditions deteriorate further there’s the prospect of localised flooding and falling branches which could both negatively affect journey times.
‘Drivers must be on their guard and, even though it’s August, trips by car look likely to be anything but plain sailing. Never attempt to drive through floods unless you are sure the water is shallow enough for you to make it through.’
Similarly, the RNLI warned people to take care on the coastline and not to enter the water where a red flag is flying.
Forecasters said the winds were ‘unusual’ for August, but would have to go some way to beat the current record wind gust speed of 87mph recorded at The Needles on the Isle of Wight in August 1996.
Likewise, the wettest August on record in the UK was in 1912 when 167.3mm (6.6in) was recorded across the country as a whole.
Between August 1 and 22, the UK as a whole had seen some 72.7mm (2.9in) of rainfall – around four-fifths of the average rainfall for the month.
No further storm is currently forecast this month, meaning the next storm will begin with A rather than G, as the storm-naming calendar resets on September 1.
Ninety-nine problems and a beach is one! Ice cream van gets stuck on the sand while serving up Cornettos
The stormy weather brought smiles to faces yesterday afternoon when an ice cream van got stuck on the beach.
The rescue was a touch of light relief for coastguards battling to keep people safe in the 70mph gales at Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset, in the lull between Storm Ellen abating and Storm Francis arriving to batter Britain.
As a few hardy souls ventured out on to the beach during the break in the awful weather, the ice cream driver saw the chance for some Cornetto sales. Holidaymakers queued up, but it ventured too far on to the sands and began sinking.
A team from the local Burnham Area Rescue Boat Search and Rescue team, which operates hovercrafts in the Bridgwater Bay area, were called out. The ice cream van’s wheels had sunk into the soft sand near the jetty following heavy rain.
The coastguard alerted the rescue organisation which managed to pull the bright yellow vehicle free using a truck. People on Facebook made fun of the situation – with one asking the rescuers if they ‘got free ice creams’ for their efforts.
The stormy weather brought smiles to faces yesterday afternoon when an ice cream van got stuck on the beach at Burnham-on-Sea
A team from the local Burnham Area Rescue Boat Search and Rescue team were called out to help rescue the stricken van yesterday