#StormKatie kept many in southern Britain awake overnight Easter Sunday into Bank holiday Monday. She did cause damage but it would have been a different story if this has been a usual Monday return to work
Storm Katie hit overnight Easter Sunday into Monday, with many in southern Britain having a sleepless night thanks to the noisy winds. There were many reports of trees down, blocked roads, damage to roofs and plenty of fence panels lying on their sides. This was the first named storm to really trouble SE England, with only Storm Imogen on the 8th of February affecting southern Britain this season so far.
The Isle of Wight recorded the strongest winds and gusts but the observation site is very exposed, the Old Battery site at the needles on the western most headland of the island. A gust of 106mph. Greater London recorded a gust of 68mph near Croydon, with other violent gusts hitting unrecorded
Berry Head, nature reserve, Torbay is a coastal headland near Brixham, Devon, England. This had max hourly mean wind speed of 56mph, that is Storm Force. Also a severe gale for Dorset, Norfolk and Sussex.
Essex and Sussex had many trees down and although there wasn’t the usual Monday morning commute, this did cause difficulties for people trying to move about by car.
For a time, the Dartford River Crossing, Orwell Bridge and the M48 Severn Bridge were closed, in the strong winds
Train services were disrupted. Great Western Railways reported flooding on the line in Somerset and Dorset as Katie also brought heavy rain. An obstruction on the line was reported in Hampshire too and there is still disruption from a landslip in Dorset.
Gatwick and Heathrow airports had cancellations, delays and planes diverted
Tens of thousands of homes in the SE and East Anglia were without power for a time on Easter Monday. There are still issues today for some.
A crane collapsed in Greenwich and the Environment Agency issued tens of flood warnings.Leek in Staffordshire recorded 35mm of rain on Monday, well over an inch. The heavy rain did cause some flooding concerns but also early in the morning, in the cold air with the heaviest bursts, there was slushy snow to low levels in the Midlands and lying snow for the Peak District and Welsh Mountains. Easter Snow!
The Met Office warnings system now considers the impact of the weather not just the severity. Much of southern Britain was covered by a Yellow Be Aware warning, with a smaller section of SE England being covered by an Amber Be Prepared Warning. Storm Katie struck overnight into a Bank Holiday so this meant many people didn’t have to be travelling to work or school. Looking at the amount of call outs for the Fire Brigade and Police anyway, there have been hundreds of incidents but few accidents. A kayaker is still missing after being overcome by strong currents in the River Wey in Surrey
Over the next few days the weather does calm down and the showers begin to fade with a more settled quieter spell for Wednesday and Thursday. No sign this week of the next named storm “Lawrence”, so get repairing that fence.
