Storms for Britain

Good tabloid press hyperbole

Apocalyptic weather to batter UK - expect relentless rainstorms and terrifying winds

FEROCIOUS storms will batter Britain this week – with gale-force winds and torrential downpours expected.

Express,

21 October, 2013

The entire country is on alert for heavy rain and brutal gusts of up to 80mph, which could continue until the end of the month.

Forecasters warned persistent rain over the past two weeks has made the ground sodden – and further showers have raised the risk of flash floods.

The strongest winds are expected to batter coastal regions, though fierce inland gusts could lead to structural damage and travel disruption.

The volatile weather has already caused flooding in parts of Wales and triggered a tornado which hit Hayling Island near Portsmouth.

The frenzied whirlwind brought down telegraph poles and damaged the roofs of almost 100 houses yesterday.

A Havant Borough Council spokesman said: “A mini-tornado hit Hayling Island at around 8am causing damage to properties.”

Resident Cheryl Hart said: “It woke me – you could hear it coming. It sounded like a freight train coming up the road.

weather forecast UK, weather, UK weather, wind and rain, tornado, whirlwind, tornado Portsmouth, flash flooding UK, flooding UK, weather for autumn, rIn Cardiff flash floods have already seized the city with more predicted to fall imminently [PA]

“You could actually see it. It’s difficult to describe but it was like a big grey wall of wind.

“We are lucky as we have only a bit of damage to our garden but other homes have been hit.”

Neighbour Kara Saunders, said: “It sounded like the 1987 hurricane all over again.” The heavy cloud and storms brought darkness, forcing cars to use full headlights at 1pm yesterday afternoon in many areas.

In Cardiff, heavy flash floods turned roads into rivers and caused traffic to grind to a halt.

Local priest Jan Gould described the “apocalyptic” rain as “the worst” she has seen.

She added: “The weather was so horrendous in west Cardiff – there was flooding all over the place – that police closed lots of the roads.”

Nick Prebble, a forecaster for MeteoGroup, warned the region to expect more heavy rain for the next few days.

The Met Office said parts of the UK, including Scotland, had seen almost half an inch of rain in an hour at the weekend.

Forecaster Charlie Powell said: “Another band of rain will move into the South-west by Monday morning bringing persistent and heavy showers.

weather forecast UK, weather, UK weather, wind and rain, tornado, whirlwind, tornado Portsmouth, flash flooding UK, flooding UK, weather for autumn, rDrivers will have to take extra care as road conditions will be dangerous [GETTY]

“There are also strong winds around, particularly along the coasts. It’s going to stay windy into the week with gusts touching gale-force in exposed regions.”

Strong winds drawn up from the south will make it feel warmer than usual for the time of year with temperatures at 64F [18C].

The Met Office man added: “Rather than the wind making it feel very cold, it is actually going to be rather muggy.”

Jonathan Powell, forecaster for Vantage Weather Services, said gusts could hit 80mph in isolated coastal regions with winds reaching 40mph inland.

He added: “There will be widespread winds, which will be strong at times and very heavy downpours. Nowhere will escape.”

Passengers on First Great Western trains between Paddington and Reading were hit by delays after signal equipment was hit by lightning.

Racing at Bath was abandoned after heavy rain led to flooding in the jockeys’ changing room