The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind covering the south west, south east, London and the Midlands. It comes into effect today and predicts disruption to transport, including flights.
This morning parents at Cheltenham Bournside School were told in an email, which has been seen by Express.co.uk: “Due to high winds, the safety of scaffolding in a central area of the school has been compromised.
“For the safety of all people on site, the school will be closing with immediate effect.”
Live trackers showed planes queuing over Heathrow earlier today, reportedly waiting to land. This is despite the airport assuring Express.co.uk that operations were continuing as normal.
A voluntary group empowering disabled people in Stevenage tweeted: “Unfortunately we have had to take the decision to cancel today’s session. High winds, problems with coaching cover, and cancelling schools make this unavoidable.”
The Met Office said: “Southwesterly winds will widely gust to between 50 and 55 mph with gusts reaching 60 to 65 mph over some exposed coasts and hills. The highest gusts are expected between mid-morning and mid-afternoon.”
The high winds have caused issues across the country. In London, there was severe disruption on the trains and tube services around the city with delays on the Metropolitan line, Circle and Hammersmith & City lines due to obstructions on the tracks.
Services on the Chiltern Main Line were also delayed by around 30 minutes after a tree fell and blocked the railway.
Meanwhile, the Severn Bridge was closed due to safety concerns caused by the inclement weather and authorities in Norfolk warned of power cuts and road closures due to falling trees and other debris.
The warnings and delays come as the UK enters a period of bad weather. Although temperatures are expected to remain above freezing, rain and snow and ice are expected to hit the rest of the country.
The Met Office has now issued a yellow warning for snow and ice in northern and central areas. In a statement, they said: “Wintry showers will continue through Tuesday, although by mid-morning the temperature on most roads will likely have risen sufficiently to reduce the risk of further accumulating snow or ice.”
It said these weather conditions could affect travel.
Travel in and out of London continues to be affected.
Greater Western Railway (GWR) said: “Due to damage to the overhead electric wires between London Paddington and Slough some lines are blocked. Disruption is expected until 15:00.”
National Rail also reported disruption between Tunbridge Wells and Hastings. They said it was expected to last until 15:00.
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