Storm Antoni saw 78mph winds hit the UK and trees blown down – blocking 100 miles of railway between Exeter and Penzance.
A danger to life alert was issued for Saturday during the amber wind warning, which covered south-western areas of both England and Wales.
Severe road and rail disruption was reported in the South West, the Met Office said, and about half a month’s worth of rain fell on parts of the UK.
Meanwhile, a yellow warning for “unseasonably windy weather” was in place for southern parts of the UK and a yellow thunderstorm warning was issued for south-east England and East Anglia.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said gusts of 78mph were measured at Berry Head in Devon and 43mm of rain fell in Scarborough, North Yorkshire – almost half of August’s average rainfall.
He added that Great Western Railway had warned passengers not to travel between Exeter and Penzance due to the number of trees which had fallen on the tracks and a number of roads had also been blocked in Devon and Cornwall.
“The rain is still ongoing at the moment, there’s still a fair bit of thunder and rain, particularly across northern England and East Anglia,” Mr Partridge added.
“There has been some localised flooding.
“The storm is going to clear through this evening, it will pretty much all be gone by midnight.”
However, the weather is expected to improve on Sunday with a drier, brighter day, and into next week highs of mid-20s could be seen by Thursday, the forecaster added. Better weather conditions could on the way for the middle and end of August, Mr Partridge said.
Advert
