Brits told 'not to travel' as country is pummelled by 80mph Storm Herminia

Brits told ‘not to travel’ as country is pummelled by 80mph Storm Herminia

Posted by author January 26, 2025 Travel

BRITS have been told “not to travel” as the country is pummelled by 80mph winds brought by Storm Herminia just days after Storm Eowyn wreaked havoc.

A new weather front has arrived in the South West and moved northwards across England and Wales during Sunday.

Wet and windy weather makes driving conditions difficult on the A102M Blackwall Tunnel Approach in Greenwich, South East LondonCredit: George Cracknell Wright

Rubble from a partially collapsed building wall. — Rubble from a building in Denny, Scotland, after the partial collapse of the wall during the stormCredit: Reuters

Satellite image of Storm Éowyn over the British Isles. — A satellite view of Storm Éowyn captured by NASA Worldview satellite imageryCredit: SWNS

Map of UK weather warnings: wind, rain, snow, and ice. — The Met office has already put a number of yellow warnings in place ahead of Storm HerminiaCredit: BBC

An 82mph gust was recorded in Predannack, south Cornwall, on Sunday morning.

Areas that bore the brunt of Storm Eowyn will “generally fair a little bit better” but there will be some snow across higher ground in Scotland, the Met Office said.

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: “With Storm Eowyn set to leave heavy rain and wind in its wake, the forecast indicates ongoing disruption for drivers in the west of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

“Fallen trees and debris, alongside flooding continuing through the weekend, will make journeys longer than usual and in the worst-case scenario, obstruct or block routes altogether.

“Motorists should still take great care and allow more time for their journeys or delay them until the worst weather has passed.

“The increased likelihood of standing water also means there’s a risk of aquaplaning, where a thin layer of water causes the vehicle’s tyres to lose contact with the road when driving at faster speeds.”

Yellow warnings for wind and rain have been issued for much of the south of the UK during Sunday and Monday.

Spanish meteorologists have dubbed the low-pressure system Storm Herminia as the European country will feel the strongest winds.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “It’s also going to be wet and windy over the next few days in southern parts of the UK in particular.

“In most parts of the UK we’re going to have some very wet and at times also very windy weather over today and Monday.

Snow & ice warnings as Met Office urges ‘be prepared’ & Storm Eowyn clean up begins

“But from Tuesday onwards, I’m expecting it generally to stay fairly changeable, but some showers at times and quite windy, but not as disruptive as it has been – I think overall, probably warnings are less likely from Tuesday onwards.

“Certainly tonight in the south east of the UK, we could see some briefly very strong winds, and we could also see some very strong winds across Cornwall and Devon tomorrow in particular”.

Coastal parts of those areas will “very likely” see 60mph to 70mph gusts.

There may also be very localised 70mph to 80mph gusts in the South East during Sunday night.

UK 5 day weather forecast

This Evening and Tonight:

Rain and hill snow continuing northwards across Scotland whilst another area of heavy rain moves across central and southern England.

Windy across the south, with a risk of gales at times for inland and coastal areas.

Monday:

Showers or longer spells of rain across most areas, some heavy at times with a chance of thunder plus hill snow in the north.

Strong winds continuing in the south.

Outlook for Tuesday to Thursday:

Remaining wet and windy on Tuesday, and also in the south on Wednesday.

Becoming more settled for all by Thursday. Temperatures near the seasonal average, but chilly at night.

A yellow wind warning is in place across Northern Ireland until 7pm on Sunday, another is active until 5pm that day in southern parts of the UK, south-west Scotland, and Wales.

A further yellow wind warning runs between 10pm on Sunday and 7am on Monday and covers large parts of the southern England, the north west, West Midlands and Yorkshire.

Gusts of 55-65mph are possible overnight and there is a small chance they could reach 80mph, the Met Office said.

All three warn of potential disruption.

Man walking away from a fallen tree that has crashed through a stone wall. — Residents across Ireland were urged to stay at home as the entire island braced for the arrival of Storm EowynCredit: PA

Woman laughs with windblown hair on a bridge. — A woman struggled with her hair on Westminster Bridge during the windy weather in Central London todayCredit: George Cracknell Wright

A dog leaping over a wave on a beach. — Some were not turned away by the adverse weather conditionsCredit: Bav Media

Storm waves crashing against a seawall and lighthouse in Folkestone. — Storm Eowyn hits the Kent coast at Folkestone HarbourCredit: Pete Maclaine / Parsons Media

A yellow warning for periods of heavy rain that could cause some flooding of roads and properties had been issued for the west Midlands and most of Wales until 11.59pm on Monday.

The Met Office expects 20mm to 40mm to fall quite widely and 50mm to 70mm on higher ground.

Another for heavy rain, thundery showers and some localised flooding is active for parts of central and southern England until 6am on Monday.

It is forecast that 10mm to 20mm of rain will fall quite widely, nearing 30mm to 50mm at greater altitude.

Further heavy rain on Sunday evening could bring it up to 80mm in a few places.

Ben Lukey, a flood duty manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Spells of heavy rain mean surface water and river flooding is possible across parts of England on Sunday, overnight into Monday.

“Although not expected, impacts could include localised flooding from watercourses, drains, channels and flooding from overland flow.

“The risk of coastal flooding remains very low. However, we urge people to stay away from exposed areas on beaches, promenades, coastal footpaths and roads where large waves and sea spray could be dangerous.”

He warned people not to drive through flood water as 30cm of flowing water is enough to float a car.

Two men died in separate incidents where a falling tree struck their cars during Storm Eowyn.

Driving in storms, rain and high winds

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.

A tree hit a 19-year-old’s blue Ford Focus at about 6.45am on Friday in Mauchline, East Ayrshire, and he died the following day, Police Scotland said.

An amber weather warning was in place in that area at the time.

Scottish First Minister John Swinney offered his condolences to the man’s family and friends.

He said in a statement shared on X, formerly Twitter: “This is tragic and heartbreaking news. Our thoughts and sympathies are with the family and friends of the man who has died.”

Kacper Dudek, 20, died after a tree fell on his car at Feddyglass, Raphoe in Co Donegal, early on Friday and Irish police are investigating the incident.

Ministers from across the UK held an emergency Cobra meeting on Saturday to co-ordinate recovery efforts, and extra engineers were dispatched from England to Northern Ireland and Scotland.

NIE (Northern Ireland Electricity) Networks said that at midday on Sunday about 75,000 of its customers remained without electricity after Storm Eowyn, and 210,000 properties had been reconnected.

By the same time more than 14,080 SP Energy Networks customers were still off-grid, though power had been restored to more than 220,000.

It has took 69,000 calls during Storm Eowyn, equivalent to two months of calls in two days.