UK weather: Storm Bella forecast to bring yet more strong gales and heavy rain
Written by News on 27/12/2020
Much of the UK remains subject to weather warnings as Storm Bella continues to bring heavy rain and gusts of more than 80mph.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning and communities from Cornwall to Kent have been warned to expect building damage and the possibility of flying debris.
On Saturday evening a gust of 83mph was recorded at Aberdaron in north Wales, with yellow weather warnings for wind and rain in place across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern Scotland into Sunday indicating 60mph winds are likely across the country.
Some 88 flood warnings have been issued in England, six in Wales and 12 in Scotland.
Flood defences were put up in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, and extra pumps deployed to the Welches Dam and Soham Lodge areas.
Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales and parts of northern England are also subject to a yellow warning for snow and ice from Sunday night into Monday, with a band of rain, sleet and snow forecast and accumulations of 1-3cm are possible.
It comes after a wet and stormy weekend for much of England, which left many areas saturated from flooding.
On Christmas Day, residents in more than 1,300 homes along the River Great Ouse in Bedfordshire were asked to leave by police after it burst its banks, causing bridges and roads to be flooded.
A Bedford resident told Sky News: “People were staying awake all night, obviously not knowing whether it’d come over the road.”
She added that everyone in the community “rallied around” to help curb the flooding by “digging trenches, bringing sandbags” and pulling out trees through the night and into the early hours of the morning.
A severe flood warning for the area was withdrawn on Saturday evening and the emergency assistance centre which was set up at Bedford International Athletic Stadium has been stood down.
Cogenhoe Mill caravan site and Billing Aquadrome Holiday Park, which are both on the River Nene in Northamptonshire, remain at risk and have severe flood warnings in place, according to the Environment Agency.
Many areas within Northern Ireland have also been issued yellow warnings of rain and wind from midday on Saturday until the evening, with conditions potentially causing disruption to travel.
And Met Eireann has also issued a country-wide status yellow wind and rain warning in Ireland, which is in force until 4am on Sunday
Wales has six warning and 33 alerts, while 12 warnings and 14 alerts have been issued by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency.
The warnings mark what continues to be a very wet festive period for many, although some were treated to a picturesque white Christmas on the big day, with snowfall recorded in Yorkshire and Suffolk.
(c) Sky News 2020: UK weather: Storm Bella forecast to bring yet more strong gales and heavy rain
