Tag: Storm Dennis

Storm Dennis: stay safe

A yellow weather warning for high winds remains in place  this morning as the tail end of Storm Dennis passes through. Thirteen flood warnings are currently in place across Scotland, but none of these affect the Edinburgh area.

Commuters are being urged to take care when travelling in heavy rain, wind and thunderstorms.

The latest FLOOD ALERT for Edinburgh and Lothians was issued yesterday and remains in place: ‘While river levels are now receding, they are expected to remain high during Sunday.

‘There may be ongoing localised flooding, primarily of land and roads, with local disruption to travel and difficult driving conditions possible. Remain vigilant and remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property.

‘Advice and information is also available through Floodline on 0345 9881188.

‘This FLOOD ALERT UPDATE is now in force until further notice.  If you haven’t already signed up to receive free flood messages, please call Floodline or register online at sepa.org.uk/floodingsignup. Your Floodline quick dial number for this area is 23200.’

Driving in storms, rain and strong wind

Choices and planning ahead

  • Even moderate rain can reduce your ability to see and be seen. A good rule of thumb is ‘if it’s time for your wipers, it’s time to slow down’.
  • If heavy downpours are expected, avoid starting your journey until it clears.
  • If you can, choose main roads, where you are less likely to be exposed to fallen branches and debris and flooding.
  • Use dipped headlights if visibility is seriously reduced.
  • Gusts of wind can unsettle vehicles – grip your steering wheel firmly with both hands. This is particularly important when planning to overtake.
  • Keep an eye out for gaps between trees, buildings or bridges over a river or railway – these are some of the places you are more likely to be exposed to side winds. Ensure that you maintain enough room either side of your vehicle so you can account for it being blown sideways.
  • Roads will be more slippery than usual in wet weather – be sure to give yourself more time to react when approaching a hazard. Increase your following gap to at least four seconds from the moving traffic in front.
  • Keep your eyes peeled on the road at all times as spray from other vehicles can suddenly reduce your visibility. Remember it affects others too, so anticipate their actions and be prepared.

What to do when the road is flooded

  • If the road is flooded, turn around and find another route. The number one cause of death during flooding is driving through flood water, so the safest advice is turn around, don’t drown.
  • Although the water may seem shallow, just 12 inches (30cm) of moving water can float your car, potentially taking it to deeper water from which you may need rescuing.
  • Flood water also contains hidden hazards which can damage your car, and just an egg-cupful of water sucked into your car’s engine will lead to severe damage.
  • Never drive through flood water. Turn around.

Keep an eye out for cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians

  • Remember to give vulnerable road users including cyclists, motorcyclists and pedestrians more room than usual. They are more likely to be blown around by side winds – always keep a safe distance.

MORE than 30 specialist water rescue firefighters were deployed throughout the Scottish Borders in response to severe flooding over the weekend.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service mobilised five water rescue units to the area, and they have been responding alongside partners to protect members of the public.

Crews carried out 15 water rescues at locations across Scotland including Perth, Linlithgow, Newcastleton and cross-border responses, and Operations Control have handled more than 60 flooding related incidents.

SFRS crews have also been working throughout the day to assist in the safe evacuation of residents in Hawick to safety, following Severe Flood Warnings indicating risk to life.

Heavy rains brought in by Storm Dennis have caused the River Teviot to reach its highest levels since 2015.

Assistant Chief Officer Paul Stewart said: “Crews have been working alongside our partners in extremely challenging conditions to ensure the safety of all residents in affected areas.

“We have been able to call upon specialist resources from across the East and West of Scotland, with more than 30 specialist water rescue firefighters mobilised to the area in response to the heightened flood risk.

 “As such, we have been working very closely with partners and lead agencies throughout today to provide assistance where required and our resources remain available to protect Scotland’s communities.”

ACO Stewart added: “My thanks must go to our dedicated crews on the ground and our Operations Control staff, who have been working extremely hard across Scotland in response to severe weather related incidents in addition to normal 999 emergencies, as well as our partners and the resilient communities in the area.”

UK braced for Storm Dennis

Storm Dennis will bring very heavy rain and strong winds to the UK this weekend, with a risk of flooding and travel disruption in some areas.

The Met Office has issued multiple National Severe Weather Warnings for wind and rain from Saturday through to Monday, including several amber rain warnings for parts of England and Wales.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Steve Willington, said: “Storm Dennis will bring another very unsettled spell of weather this weekend with a risk of flooding, particularly in parts of England and Wales and also southern Scotland, where snowmelt will add to the flood risk.

 “Following Storm Ciara last weekend and further spells of rain this week, the ground is already saturated in places. With Storm Dennis bringing further heavy and persistent rain over the weekend, there is a risk of significant impacts from flooding, including damage to property and a danger to life from fast flowing floodwater.

“Our advice is to keep an eye on the latest weather forecast and weather warnings for your area and to follow the safety advice from officials.”

Caroline Douglass, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “We are advising people to sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email and to access the latest safety advice on gov.uk by searching ‘sign up for flood warnings’.

“Remember to never drive or walk through flood water, just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car – it’s not worth the risk.”

In addition to rain warnings, the Met Office have issued several wind warnings over the weekend.

Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Laura Ellam, said: “It’ll be windy across the UK this weekend – on Saturday the strongest winds will be across England and Wales, and on Sunday the strongest winds will be across Northern Ireland, Scotland, and parts of northern England and north Wales, with coastal gales of 70mph at times.

“Monday will be another windy day, but the heavy rain will be replaced by blustery, wintry showers.”

You can get the most accurate and up to date forecast for your area using the Met Office forecast pages and by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store. 

Yellow weather warning remains in place … and here comes Dennis

A Met Office Yellow Warning for snow and ice remains in place today – the  forecast is windy with wintry showers, drying up this afternoon.

The Queensferry Crossing remains CLOSED.

Today:

Further wintry showers in the morning. These becoming less widespread in the afternoon with more in the way of dry and sunny weather especially in east. Strong winds easing. Maximum temperature 5 °C.

Tonight:

Any showers dying out this evening with clear spells allowing a frost for a time. Becoming cloudy overnight with sleet, snow, easterly winds, reaching Southwest and Borders. Minimum temperature -2 °C.

Tomorrow (Thursday):

Sleet or snow in morning, early afternoon, east coast rain, with strong northeast winds. Possibly disruptive snow high ground in south. Becoming drier in afternoon with some sunshine, winds easing. Maximum temperature 5 °C.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Heavy rain arriving on Friday, thaw, clearing to scattered showers. Windy. Dry start Saturday then more heavy rain, windy again. Sunshine, showers Sunday with gales or severe gales.

Storm Dennis to bring heavy rain and gales 

Named by the Met Office, the impacts from this low-pressure system are not expected to be as extreme as Storm Ciara but will bring widespread strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK.

The system will develop in the North Atlantic before tracking eastwards towards the UK and Ireland over the coming days, passing to the north of Scotland on Saturday. A National Severe Weather Warning for wind has been issued for much of England and Wales, further warnings are likely to be issued in the coming days.

Steve Ramsdale, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office said: “Another spell of very wet and windy ​weather is expected for Saturday, although Storm Dennis is currently not expected to be as severe as Ciara disruption is still likely.

“Our confidence in the forecast means we have been able to issue severe weather warnings well in advance, giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm.

“With further warnings possible over the next few days people should keep up to date with the Met Office forecast using our website, app or by following us on social media.”

Over the weekend wind gusts will widely reach in excess of 50mph, even across some inland areas, with gusts of over 60mph possible over hills, coastal areas and exposed locations.

While these winds have the potential to bring impacts they are not as strong as the gusts we saw last weekend with Storm Ciara when a gust of 97mph was recorded on the Isle of Wight.

Heavy rain is also expected with the storm and with already saturated ground there is a risk of further flooding. Storm Dennis is expected to bring a range of impacts, including delays and cancellations to transport services, damage to power supplies and large coastal waves.

The weather this week, ahead of Storm Dennis, remains unsettled. North westerly winds are bringing cold air across the UK and the north of England and Scotland will continue to see some snow, mainly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Winds remain strong with sunny, dry spells expected in places especially in the east.

You can get the most accurate and up to date forecast for your area using the Met Office forecast pages and by following them on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using the mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.