Road closures, power cuts and yellow weather warning as Storm Bert hits

A wave breaks on the Penzance promenade as Storm Bert hits on the morning of 23 November. Credit: Penzance Council.

Hundreds are without power, roads have been closed and rail passengers have been advised to expect slower services as Storm Bert hits the South West.

A yellow weather warning for wind covering the entire West Country has been issued by the Met Office, and is in effect from 9am on Saturday 23 November until 9pm on Sunday 24 November.

A second yellow weather warning for rain covers the majority of the region and is in place from 6am on 23 November until midnight on 24 November.

Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell has said the effects of the storm will continue throughout the weekend.

“There will be some heavy rain and travelling conditions throughout the day will be pretty poor,” he said.

  • High tide at Dawlish on Saturday morning

He added that 68mph winds were recorded in Brixham, Devon on Saturday morning.

Over the weekend, Wales and the South West could see up to 75mm of rain widely, and potentially more. There is a chance that some places over Dartmoor could see 100-150mm of rainfall, the national weather service said.

Power cuts

More than 700 homes across the South West are currently without power, according to the National Grid.

There are currently 30 separate outages across the region, affecting around 707 households. In Cornwall, this includes homes near Camborne, Truro and St Ives.

Households have also been left off the grid near Liskeard, Plymouth, Exeter, Honiton, right across Somerset, and around Kingswood, South Gloucestershire.

National Grid says work is underway to restore power to those affected.

Ross Easton, of Energy Networks Association (ENA) – which represents the UK’s power network operators, said: “There are a few localised weather-related power cuts in parts of Britain this morning. However, for most parts of the country the severe weather hasn’t yet had a significant impact.

“Forecasters are describing this as a ‘multi-hazard event’ with the worst of the weather yet to arrive, and so our members have extra engineers and contact centre teams available, and control rooms are monitoring the storm closely as it develops.”

Travel disruption

The M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire has been closed in both directions between J1 and J2 due to strong winds. National Highways has advised motorists to use the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge instead.

South Western Rail (SWR) has announced that services between Exeter and London Waterloo will start and finish at Basingstoke, meaning those trying to get to London will have to find alternative routes.

The company also said journey times will be longer between Salisbury and Exeter and between Bournemouth and Weymouth due to speed restrictions, and services across its network will start later than usual on Sunday and Monday because of safety inspections.

Great Western Railway (GWR) has also said there is no service between Liskeard and Looe due to a fallen tree on the line.

Travel-service Inrix also reports that all sailings have been cancelled on the St Mawes Passenger Ferry between St Mawes and Falmouth.

You can read more on how Storm Bert is affecting communities right across the country here.

Storm Bert in pictures

Waves break over the promenade in Penzance on 23 November. Credit: Penzance Council.
The RNLI's Penlee Severn Class All Weather Lifeboat ‘Ivan Ellen’ launches during Storm Bert for a training exercise. Credit: Penzance Council.
A pair brave the waves on the seafront in Dawlish
Huge waves and spray break in Dawlish during Storm Bert.
High tide in Dawlish as Storm Bert hit the South West on the morning of 23 November.