Storm Gerrit batters Britain as flights scrapped, bridges shut and trains delayed in post-Christmas travel hell

27 December 2023, 13:01

Storm Gerrit has rolled in to Britain as the Met Office issued a raft of weather warnings - and post-Christmas travel was seriously disrupted.

Swathes of the UK have seen dire conditions in the wake of festive celebrations, with rail passengers facing having journeys delayed by speed restrictions.

A total of 18 British Airways flights were cancelled at Heathrow amid 70mph gusts, as passengers hoping for a pre-New Year getaway to Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin and Paris saw their journeys scrapped.

It also affected flights from the airport to Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Jersey and Manchester.

Read more: Storm Gerrit batters Britain as Met Office warns of floods, power cuts and disruption to post-Christmas travel

"As a result of air traffic control restrictions put in place because of Storm Gerrit, we have had to make some adjustments to our schedule today," a BA spokesperson said.

"We have apologised to our customers for any disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible."

Ferry services to Southampton and the Isle of Wight risked being cancelled, operator Red Funnel said, while hovercraft services to the island from Portsmouth were suspended.

The Severn Bridge on the M48 was closed because of strong winds, with traffic diverted to the Prince of Wales bridge on the M4.

Drivers will have to contend with "strong winds and heavy rain", the Met Office said, adding that "wintry hazards" will be especially apparent in northern Scotland.

And snow has been forecast for parts.

Besides disruption to transport, the Met Office has warned of the risk of power cuts and flooding.

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Its chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said: "Storm Gerrit will run towards western UK on Wednesday and bring with it potential impacts for much of the UK.

"Winds across southern coastal areas of England will be strong, possibly peaking around 70 mph on exposed coastlines, but more widely around 50-60 mph within the warning area.

"Rain is an additional hazard from Storm Gerrit, with active weather fronts leading to a wet day for many.

"Snow is also likely to cause problems for some northern areas: only briefly for a few upland routes across the Pennines and southern Scotland overnight and early on Wednesday, but more widely to the north of the Central Lowlands later in the day.

"Here around 10 to possibly 20cm of snow may affect some of the highest routes, this combining with very strong winds to lead to some difficult travel conditions. At lower levels a combination of heavy rain and very strong winds will dominate."

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A yellow warning for wind, bringing the possibility of transport disruption, is in place for the south coast and south western coast of England until 6pm.

Most of Wales has been issued a heavy rain warning, bringing the possibility of flooding with it, until 6pm, while much of the Welsh western and northern coast, and the coast of North West England, has been issued a wind warning from 6pm until 3am on Thursday.

A heavy rain warning is in place until 6pm for heavy rain across much of the north and parts of the Midlands between Stoke and Nottingham, and a separate one for the same timeframe has been issued for South West Scotland.

In the Highlands, a rain and snow alert has been issued, lasting until 9pm, while in the western parts of Scotland's high north, a wind warning is in place for the rest of the day.

The Shetland Islands have been issued a wind and snow warning for 9pm to 6am.

ScotRail has scrapped all trains between Inverness and Kyle of Lochalsh until January 3 due to Highland flooding, while speed restrictions were announced for nine routes, including Edinburgh or Aberdeen and Inverness, Edinburgh and Perth or Dundee, and Glasgow Queen Street, Oban or Mallaig.

In Wales, trains between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog were scrapped, while there are late start-up services from Shrewsbury to Swansea and Llandrindod. Floods between Hereford and Leominster have also caused delays.

The storm's disruption compounds other problems, including disruption to Southeastern services between London and Kent due to overrunning engineering works.

Gerrit is the seventh named storm of the season, starting with Agnes in September. The most recent was Fergus on December 10.