The Met Office has issued a new extended yellow wind warning for several regions across the UK for Sunday amid Storm Darragh. Now the alert for nine areas will continue until 6pm on Sunday – meaning the damage and disruption will continue for longer.
High winds are anticipated to batter the region, arriving across the areas at around 6am on Sunday and will continue sweeping through until 6pm. The full list of local areas affected includes East Midlands, East of England, London and South East England, North East England, North West England, South West England, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber.
A Met Office forecast said: “Storm Darragh will be moving away from the UK through Sunday but will continue to leave a legacy of strong north to northeasterly winds across much of England and Wales. Winds will quite widely gust to 35-45 mph inland but locally could gust in excess of 50 mph, especially over higher ground. Around coasts, winds will gust to 50-60 mph, perhaps locally nearer 70 mph during the morning. The wind may cause disruption to travel, with difficult driving conditions likely. Winds will very slowly ease from the north through the day.”
READ MORE: Wales breaking news plus weather and traffic updates (Saturday, December 7)
The storm has seen winds recorded at 93mph, widespread damage and at least one death. The Energy Networks Association this afternoon said 177,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales are without power.
A spokesperson said around 768,000 customers have been reconnected on Saturday, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed.
A major incident was declared in parts of Wales because of disruption from Storm Darragh. Dyfed-Powys Police said it was continuing to experience high volumes of calls about fallen trees and poor driving conditions.
Superintendent Chris Neve said: “I have this morning declared a major incident for the counties of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire and Powys, which means that together with our partners, we can call on the resources we need to respond to the challenges brought by Storm Darragh.”
A man died during Storm Darragh after a tree fell onto his van in Lancashire. The man, in his 40s, was driving his Citroen vehicle on the A59 at Longton, near Preston, at about 9am on Saturday. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Paul Williams, general manager of Llandudno Pier in North Wales, said it may cost £250,000 to repair the damage Storm Darragh caused to the tourist attraction. He told the PA news agency: “Overnight one of the kiosks, one of the original ones, which is roughly 148-years-old was ripped up.
“It’s the first time in its history that it has been tipped to one side. The ice cream stand at the end of the pier has been ripped up and it went into the sea. and there are about a thousand pieces washed up on the other side of the bay. The roof has come off the toilet and there’s real fear that we’ll potentially lose the bar and cafe down the end as well.”
Speaking to Sky News, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds described the storm as a “challenging situation”. He added: “About three million homes will have had the emergency alert system to their mobile phone. I would just encourage anyone who has had that to follow the advice.”
The Met Office confirmed to the PA news agency that wind gusts of up to 93mph were recorded overnight in Capel Curig in North Wales, with 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula.
Winds in other parts of Wales, Northern Ireland and south-west England topped 80mph.
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