Severe Weather Warning Issued for South of England
Posted by feww on October 24, 2013
Worst Storm of the Year to Hit England Next Week
The UK Met Office has warned that a severe storm forecast for Monday has the potential to cause danger to life and widespread disruption in the south of England.
An amber warning for wind has been issued and there is also concern that heavy rain could cause flash flooding, on or about Monday, October 28, 2013.
The Met Office has warned people in the forecast area of strong winds adding that they “should be prepared for the risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures.”
Amber Warning for High Wind
“A very intense low pressure system is forecast to run northeastwards across the country early on Monday, bringing the potential for an exceptionally windy spell of weather for southern parts of the UK. At the same time, persistent, heavy rain could cause some surface water flooding.
“At this early stage there is uncertainty about the timing, intensity and track of the low. However, the public should be prepared for the risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures, bringing disruption to transport and power supplies.” The Met Office said.
“Amber warning” is the second most serious on the Met Office scale.
Exposed coastal areas in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, Southampton, West Sussex, East Sussex, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Brighton and Hove should expect wind gusts of up to 130 km/hr.
Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Greater London, Hampshire, Kent, Medway, Reading, Slough, Surrey, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton have been issued with yellow alerts for high wind.
Yellow alerts are less severe than amber warnings.
Yellow Warning for Heavy Rain
Additionally, a yellow warning for rain on Monday has been issued for northern England, the Midlands, southern England and Wales warning people on those areas “of the potential for surface water flooding.”
The Met Office Chief Forecaster’s Assessment
“A strong, high-level jet is expected to engage warm low level air to give rise to a rapidly moving low pressure system later on Sunday. This is expected to run northeastwards, probably across England and Wales, with very strong winds on its southern and western flanks. There is the potential for gusts of over 80 mph, especially on exposed coasts, both in southwesterly winds ahead of the low and west to northwesterly winds behind it.”
Great Storm of 1987
The storm that occurred on October 15 – 16, 1987, mainly affected southeastern England and northern France. In England, maximum mean wind speeds of about 130 km/hr uprooted 15 million trees and left at least 19 people dead.
Fire Earth 
Standard Climate said
Reblogged this on Standard Climate.
St. Jude said
Britain braced for hurricane-force ‘St. Jude’ storm
(Reuters) – Hurricane-force winds are forecast to disrupt road, rail and airport networks on Monday when one of the strongest storms in decades is expected to hit the southern half of Britain during rush-hour, forecasters warned on Sunday.
Local media dubbed the storm “St. Jude”, after the patron saint of lost causes who is traditionally celebrated on October 28, and made comparisons to 1987 when a storm killed 18 people in Britain and felled some 15 million trees.
The storm is expected to bring 80 mph winds and heavy rain to Britain early on Monday morning. The strongest winds could affect commuter routes north of London and across the central region, the Met Office said.
Prime Minister David Cameron chaired a meeting between the Environment Agency, forecasters and government departments on Sunday to discuss contingency plans for the impact of the storm.
Britain’s rail network operator said a revised timetable was already being put in place on some routes while the Highways Agency warned road bridges may need to be closed. London’s main Heathrow airport said it was expecting delays and cancellations.
“The thing that’s unusual about this one is that most of our storms develop out over the Atlantic so that they’ve done all their strengthening and deepening by the time they reach us,” Met Office spokeswoman Helen Chivers said.
“This one is developing as it crosses the UK, which is why it brings the potential for significant disruption … and that doesn’t happen very often.”
The Met Office warned of potential disruption to transport and power supplies.
Storms and strong winds are also expected to hit parts of the Netherlands on Monday, the Dutch Meteorological Institute said.
Amsterdam’s Schiphol airport, one of Europe’s busiest, said the storm could lead to flight delays or cancellations, while the national railway said train services could be disrupted.
In Britain, winds peaked at more than 110 mph when the 1987 storm hit without warning, causing millions of pounds of damage and provoking criticism of Britain’s national forecaster.
The Met Office said advances in forecasting technology had allowed it to predict Monday’s storm well in advance, and that it had started discussions with local councils, emergency services and transport operators early last week.
Last year winds of up to 81 mph hit parts of Scotland in what the Met Office said was Britain’s most severe storm since 1998.
http://www.reuters.com/