Storm Ciara set to bring strong winds and disruption to travel
Storm Ciara is set to bring very strong winds, rain and potentially some disruption to travel across Shropshire on Sunday.
The Met Office has issued Amber warnings for wind across parts of the UK, including Shropshire, and Yellow warnings for wind brought by Storm Ciara covering the whole UK on Sunday.
Named by the Met Office on Wednesday, Storm Ciara is currently tracking eastwards towards the UK and Ireland.
The Yellow warning for wind across Shropshire is active from 00:00 to 23:59, with the Amber warning for wind covering the period 08:00 to 21:00.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Frank Saunders, said: “Storm Ciara will bring damaging winds and heavy rain across the UK this weekend and we have issued a range of severe weather warnings giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm.
“Winds will increase through Saturday across Northern Ireland, Scotland, northern England and Wales, before turning very windy across the rest of UK through the early hours of Sunday morning. Gusts of 50 to 60 mph are expected quite widely across inland areas, with even stronger gusts of 80mph or higher along coastal areas, especially in southeast England and northern Scotland.”
Looking further ahead, Frank said: “In the wake of Storm Ciara, it’ll remain unsettled and very windy across the UK and it’ll turn colder with wintry showers and ice an additional hazard, as we head into the new week.”
Disruption Likely
Storm Ciara is expected to bring a range of impacts including delays and cancellations to train services, damage to buildings such as tiles blown from roofs and there is a good chance power cuts may occur, as well as difficult driving conditions in heavy rain.
Train Travel
Network Rail and Transport for Wales have issued joint information ahead of Storm Ciara.
Transport for Wales Operations Director Martyn Brennan and Amanda Newton, Senior Incident Officer at Network Rail said: “With Storm Ciara set to bring gale force winds of up to 90mph on Sunday, Transport for Wales and Network Rail wish to urge all customers to check their journeys prior to travel.
“We’re expecting very stormy conditions and winds that have the potential to uproot trees and damage infrastructure.
“The safety of our customers and colleagues is our absolute priority and as such there are likely to be a number of speed restrictions in place around our network, while some other lines may be forced to close entirely. We are working closely together to minimise any disruption and will do all we can to keep our customers moving and informed.”
Weather Forecast
Today: It will be a dry day with some good spells of sunshine to start before cloud builds during the afternoon. A breezy day with the winds becoming increasingly stronger through the day. A high of 9C.
Tonight: A dry and cloudy start to the evening with the odd clear spell. Overnight will see rain, heavy at times, across the region, accompanied by strong winds, possibly gales. A low of 5C.
Sunday: Rain will persist through the morning, often with some heavy downpours. Drier at times in the afternoon but still with heavy showers. A very windy day with gales. A high of 13C.
Outlook for Monday to Wednesday: Monday and Tuesday will be windy but colder with blustery wintry showers, mixed with drier and brighter spells. Showers and sunny spells Wednesday, rain and strong winds overnight.
