Storm Herminia LIVE: Flooding and travel disruption threat as Met Office weather warnings come into effect

Yahoo

27-01-2025

Stormy weather is bringing the threat of flooding and more disruption to transport across a swathe of the UK including London.
A yellow wind warning is in place until 6am on Tuesday for large parts of southern England, including the capital, as Storm Herminia - named by meteorologists in Spain - hits the UK.
Heavy rain was also falling on London after a separate Met Office warning for wet weather ran until 6am.
More than 40 flood warnings are in place across England and Wales with the Met Office predicting 20mm to 40mm will fall quite widely and 50mm to 70mm on higher ground.
Okehampton in Devon had 35.8mm of rain on Sunday, while an 83mph gust was recorded in Berry Head, south Devon, and 81mph in Capelcurig, North Wales.
It comes as parts of the UK are still recovering from the effects of Storm Eowyn, with several train lines in Scotland unable to reopen on Monday morning.
Follow the latest updates below...
11:38 , Will Mata
The Met Office has issued a yellow rain warning for London between midday and 9pm on Tuesday - with 9C temperatures amid 'occasional heavy showers, with strong gusty winds'.
Here is a quick round-up:
Transport for London has reported a good service across the board with the exception of the Piccadilly line - where a leaf fall has caused the closure between Rayners Land and Uxbridge.
National Rail has flagged a number of providers that may operate a disrupted service or have cancellations as a result of the storm. See the full list here.
The Met Office has said the next few days will be 'unsettled' after Storm Herminia came on the back of Storm Eowyn.
13:24 , Will Mata
Scotland's First Minister has said reconnecting power in Scotland following Storm Eowyn has been a "colossal" task and the impact is a "warning that climate change is with us".
Tens of thousands of homes were left without power after the storm hit on Friday with almost 8,000 homes still cut off on Monday morning.
Gusts hit 100mph north of the border as high winds claimed one life and caused widespread damage, disrupting travel and damaging property.
Speaking at an event in Edinburgh, John Swinney said: "It's a warning to us that climate change is with us and the ferocity (of it)."
12:59
A major incident has been declared in Somerset after overnight flooding as rain and wind continue to batter parts of the UK.
Residents in the worst affected areas of Somerset have been evacuated from their homes, with more than 50 flood warnings in effect across England and two in force in Scotland as the UK recovers from Storm Eowyn.
A series of weather warnings - including a fresh yellow rain alert issued on Monday morning - are in place to cover the potential impacts from the less powerful Storm Herminia, a low pressure system named by meteorologists in Spain, which is expected to feel the strongest winds.
A yellow alert for rain was issued by the Met Office at 7.58am on Monday covering parts of southern England until 10am on Tuesday, warning of heavy rain, possible thunderstorms and flooding.
Another yellow warning for rain is in place until 11.59pm covering large swathes of Wales and parts of the West Midlands, with the Met Office predicting 0.8in to 1.6in (20mm to 40mm to fall quite widely and 2in to 2.8in (50mm to 70mm) on higher ground.
And a yellow wind alert is in force until 6am on Tuesday for southern England and parts of Wales, with gusts of 50mph to 70mph possible at times.
Somerset Council and police jointly declared a major incident in the region.
12:16 , Will Mata
Stormont's first and deputy first minister have called on Northern Ireland's energy network provider, NIE Networks, to offer goodwill payments to those who remain without power following Storm Eowyn.
First Minister Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little Pengelly said compensation payments were available in Scotland for affected customers.
Some 65,000 homes and business remain without power in Northern Ireland, with some people told they could be waiting until February 3 to be reconnected.
Updating reporters at Parliament Buildings in Belfast, Ms O'Neill said: "We've asked NIE to look at the issue of compensation, because we think that it is important that people are supported through these difficult days."
She added: "These companies make significant profits every year. They should make sure they give that goodwill payment now at a time of need."
12:05 , Will Mata
A British sailor was lost at sea after his yacht was found wrecked off the southwest French coast amid heavy storms over the weekend, French maritime authorities said.
The search for the 73-year-old came as Storm Herminia battered western France. France's national weather agency on Monday placed the Ile-et-Vilaine department, in western France, on red alert due to the risks of major floods.
The distress beacon of the yacht was detected around 80 km (50 miles) west of Lacanau on Saturday afternoon, and a helicopter dispatched to the scene found the sailboat, the Prefet Maritime de l'Atlantique said in a statement late on Sunday.
The helicopter winched its two divers on board, who discovered an empty life raft.
A cargo vessel and the Spanish hospital ship Esperanza del Mar were also mobilised to search for the man.
After several hours of searching and due to a lack of any new information, the search was suspended in the early hours of Sunday.
12:03 , Will Mata
National Rail has flagged a number of providers that may operate a disrupted service or have cancellations as a result of the storm.
'Strong winds can blow trees into infrastructure, damaging the overhead lines that power electric trains,' the website states.
It added: 'The winds can mean it's unsafe to carry out repairs at height – or with certain machinery until the winds have dropped. Trains may have to run at a reduced speed causing delays to your journey.'
See the full list in our story here.
11:59 , Will Mata
As of midday there are no major weather-related delays on the roads to report - but National Highways has warned of rainy weather ahead.
'Expect heavy showers and possible thunderstorms,' a tweet read.
'Stay safe: drive to conditions, slow down, use wipers, and keep a four-second gap.'
Rainy weather ahead! Expect heavy showers and possible thunderstorms. Stay safe: drive to conditions, slow down, use wipers, and keep a 4-second gap. More info https://t.co/dIuN27CxVx. #WeatherReady pic.twitter.com/YT7P4PKvD8
— National Highways: South-East (@HighwaysSEAST) January 27, 2025
11:41 , Will Mata
There has been some confusion as to how we have arrived at Storm Herminia when the Met Office names storms alphabetically - and we have only just had Storm Eowyn.
Well, Storm Herminia originated in Spain and France and has blown over to northern Europe. Therefore, it was named by the Spanish weather agency and is not considered to be on the Met's list.
Here is the full process behind the decision making.
11:13 , Will Mata
With weather warnings in place on Monday and Tuesday, Network Rail has warned of the potential for disruption on lines.
The agency has said: 'Strong winds can blow trees into infrastructure, damaging the overhead lines that power electric trains.
'The winds can mean it's unsafe to carry out repairs at height – or with certain machinery until the winds have dropped. Trains may have to run at a reduced speed causing delays to your journey.'
As a result ScotRail and Transport for Wales have both reported disruption to services on Monday morning. See the full list here.
11:08 , Will Mata
Ministers have insisted that every effort is being made to restore power supplies that were cut during Storm Eowyn, amid concerns some communities could be left in the dark until next week.
Homes and infrastructure across Ireland were damaged during the nationwide red-level weather event, which brought record-breaking wind speeds and cut power to more than a million customers on the island of Ireland.
A young man was killed after a tree fell on his car in Co Donegal during the storm.
Technicians from England and France were helping restore power to homes and businesses as around 278,000 remained cut off in Ireland and 65,000 in Northern Ireland.
Around 109,000 were without water and 94,000 homes and businesses were without broadband as of Sunday.
Irish deputy premier and foreign affairs minister Simon Harris said that "everything that can be done is being done" to restore supplies.
11:07 , Will Mata
Scotland's First Minister has said reconnecting power in Scotland following Storm Eowyn has been a "colossal" task.
Tens of thousands of homes were left without power after the storm battered the country on Friday with almost 8,000 homes still cut off on Monday morning.
Speaking at an event in Edinburgh, First Minister John Swinney said he had been tracking the situation over the weekend.
"The scale of the challenge has been colossal, utterly colossal," he said.
"Although there are 7,897 people off supply, the number that have been reconnected is in excess of 180,000 since Friday evening."
He added: "I have been engaged with the resilience community and the power companies all weekend and I'm satisfied that there has been a huge mobilisation of resource to try to address this issue."
The situation as it stands in Scotland, the First Minister, is more "diffuse" than over the weekend, with those without power living in more rural areas.
11:05 , Will Mata
Towns in France are getting back to normal on Monday after devastating flooding caused by Storm Herminia.
10:22 , Will Mata
Areas of Wales and south west England have been particuarly badly hit by the storm overnight.
Okehampton in Devon had 35.8mm of rain on Sunday, while an 83mph gust was recorded in Berry Head, south Devon, and 81mph in Capelcurig, North Wales.
A yellow wind warning was in place until 7am on Monday for large parts of southern England, the North West, the West Midlands and Yorkshire.
Flooding saw stretches of the A36 and A303 closed in Devon and Wiltshire overnight, while National Rail said services were running normally between Taunton and Castle Cary after flooding.
10:18 , Will Mata
The Met Office has said the next few days will be 'unsettled'.
The UK has just come off the back of the devastating Storm Eowyn and is now set to be on the receiving end of Storm Herminia.
A wet and windy spell arrived in the South West on Sunday morning and was moving across the north of the UK overnight, the Met Office has said.
Meteorologist Marco Petagna said: "Things are going to stay unsettled in the next few days. We're getting successive spells of wet and windy weather, which is obviously adding to impacts.'
While not as powerful as Storm Eowyn, a low-pressure system was named Storm Herminia by meteorologists in Spain which was expected to feel the strongest winds.
The Met Office said Monday is expected to see showers, turning heavy in the south alongside strong, gale-force winds, with snow on the hills in the north.
Gales are expected to ease slowly in the South West overnight but pick up in the far north.
Tuesday is forecast to see further heavy showers in the south with a risk of thunder. Longer spells of rain in the North West as expected to ease later.
The wet and windy weather will remain in the south on Wednesday more settled conditions will be present later in the week.
10:13 , Will Mata
The effects of Herminia have been felt as Scotland continues to recover from the effects of Storm Eowyn.
ScotRail said engineers had made "great progress" in removing debris and repairing damage, but several lines were unlikely to reopen for the start of services on Monday.
The Largs to Adrossan line will not reopen on Monday after an overhead gantry was brough down by a falling tree.
Avanti West Coast said services to and from Glasgow and Edinburgh had resumed, but warned of late starts and possible delays on Scottish routes.
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said around 74,000 customers remained without power at the end of Sunday following Storm Eowyn, while the Northern Powergrid said teams were working to reconnect more than 150 customers overnight.
10:07 , Will Mata
Stormy weather is bringing the threat of flooding and more disruption to transport across large parts of England and Wales.
A series of yellow warnings for wind and rain have been issued for large parts of England and Wales with more than 40 flood warnings in place.
After a Met Office warning for rain over parts of Wales and central, southern and northern England, ran until 6am on Monday, there was little respite with much of the same area under a 24-hour warning for strong and gusty winds from the same time.
A warning for periods of heavy rain that could cause some flooding of roads and properties was in place for the West Midlands and most of Wales until 11.59pm on Monday with the Met Office predicting 20mm to 40mm to fall quite widely and 50mm to 70mm on higher ground.