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Passengers sob as flight violently buffeted by storm brendan – and there's more bad weather on the way – the telegraph, telegraph.co.uk

Passengers sob as flight violently buffeted by storm brendan – and there's more bad weather on the way – the telegraph, telegraph.co.uk


Passengers sobbed and phoned loved ones as their flight across the Irish Sea was violently buffeted by Storm Brendan, with more rain and high winds forecast for Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Schools were shut, flights grounded, ferries cancelled and roads closed as the storm wreaked havoc across Britain.

A warning of heavy rain was issued for south-east England for Tuesday night through to this morning, with the worst expected between 1pm Tuesday and 9am Wednesday.

Up to 1.6in (50 mm) of rain is forecast to fall in hilly areas and 1in (40 mm) at lower levels overnight, in the wake of the gusts which tore through the country on Monday night and Tuesday morning, leaving a trail of damage.

Weather warnings remained in force across the country after winds of up to 70 mph battered inland areas on Monday night, with gusts of up to 104 mph were recorded as the storm hit the South West.

So fierce were the weather conditions that passengers on board Aer Lingus EI from London Heathrow to Belfast City Airport on Monday sobbed and made phone calls to loved ones, as high winds forced the flight to be diverted to Belfast International Airport.

Dwaine Vance, who was onboard, wrote on a Facebook post: “The talent and skills of the Aer Lingus pilot is nothing short of miraculous. You know it was a scary flight when people take out their phones to make calls, and people are openly sobbing on the flight.

“I for one, was petrified. Thankfully we landed safely, albeit at the wrong airport. ”

The strongest gust recorded during Storm Brendan reached 728 mph at Cairngorm National Park in the Highlands, with 104 mph in South Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland, and winds of more than mph also recorded in Wales and the Isle Of Scilly.

In Wales the M 50 Severn Bridge was shut eastbound and closed to high sided vehicles westbound on Tuesday, due to strong winds. Speed ​​restrictions were also put in place on the Tamar bridge.

Power cuts were reported in the Redruth and St Austell areas of Cornwall after trees tore down power lines, and as many as 400 properties in Saltash were left without power.

A school in Bontnewydd, Gwynedd, north Wales, was also shut due to a power failure when a tree fell on power lines and hit a car and the village of Malpas, said to enjoy some of the best river views in Cornwall , was cut off from the rest of the world for several hours after a large tree came down in gale force winds, blocking the single road in and out.

Three yellow weather warnings were in place yesterday, including one for wind across England and Wales, and another for snow and ice in northern Scotland.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon yesterday that northern and western Scotland would continue to be hit with high winds of 60 mph to 70 mph from Storm Brendon, with a new low pressure front causing blustery conditions for England and Wales.

Mr Claydon said: “We are looking at gusts of (mph to) mph with exposed coasts and the tops of hills seeing****************** mph and maybe even up to 60 mph. With that there’s also going to be some rain, making conditions quite unpleasant.

“It’s definitely going to be unpleasant driving conditions and could lead to disruption across many travel networks.”

Thirteen Environment Agency flood warnings – signalling that flooding is expected – and 400 alerts remained in place following Monday evening’s battering. In Scotland there were 48 flood warnings and alerts in place, with 25 flood alerts in Wales.

Properties in the Somerset village of Dunkerton, five miles south of Bath, were flooded after a blocked drain combined with heavy rain running off the hillsides onto already saturated land. Avon Fire & Rescue crews pumped 70, 000 liters of water from the scene using a portable pump.

Seven flights to Gatwick Airport were diverted to other locations across the UK after gales in excess of mph struck the area overnight on Monday.

Two Wizz Air flights, four easyJet services and one Norwegian Air flight were diverted while one easyJet flight from Edinburgh was forced to land at Birmingham.

Northern Ireland, the west of Britain and north east Scotland were battered by high winds on Monday night, causing road crashes, fallen trees and travel disruption.

Giant waves more than 40 ft high were seen off the Outer Hebrides , twice the height of a double decker bus.

All schools in Uist and Barra, in the Outer Hebrides were shut and pupils told to stay at home, although they remained open for staff who were expected to attend “when they deem it safe to do so”.

Bus services on the islands were also cancelled, as were ferry routes covering much of the west coast of Scotland. Northlink Ferries also told passengers there may be disruption on services to Orkney and Shetland.

Rail services between Ayr and Kilwinning were disrupted due to overhead line damage.

In Northern Ireland, thousands of homes were left without power and roads were shut and in Wales, more than 1, properties lost power, and a school was closed due to a power failure after a tree fell on power lines in Bontnewydd, Gwynedd.


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