Storm Darragh: Latest on Bristol Airport disruption, road closures, power cuts and cancelled trains
Trees have fallen in Burnham-on-Sea as Storm Darragh hit the West Country.
Thousands of homes are without power, trains and bus services are cancelled and businesses closed as Storm Darragh hits the South West.
A red “risk to life” weather warning has now passed, but amber and yellow warnings are in place for the rest of the West Country.
The Met Office has confirmed winds of 92mph were recorded in parts of the UK overnight.
Storm Darragh has been stirring up huge waves at Weston-super-Mare.
People are being urged to stay indoors until the storm has passed. Many businesses have closed and events have been called off.
Here’s the latest on Storm Darragh’s impact in the South West:
Power outages
At 2pm, National Grid said 120,180 properties are without power across South Wales, the South West and the Midlands.
They said: "We have already been able to successfully and safely restore supplies to 676,820 homes and businesses.
"Strong winds can lead to overhead power lines and equipment being damaged by flying debris. Fallen trees and flooding that blocks roads can restrict our access to incidents.
"Please stay clear of any fallen equipment and report it, or any power cuts, by calling our emergency number 105.
"Engineering teams continue to work hard in challenging weather conditions to restore power supplies and support customers, as heavy wind and rain affects our electricity network across South Wales, the South West and Midlands."
You can find more information about which areas are affected on the National Grid's map here.
Road closures
M48 Severn Crossing: Closed in both directions due to strong winds between J2 (Chepstow) and J1 (Aust). M4 Prince of Wales Bridge reopening around 3.30pm on Saturday 7 December.
M5 Northbound from J23 (Bridgwater) to J22 (Burnham-on-Sea): One lane is closed due to debris on the road
M5 Northbound from J25 (Taunton) to J24 (Bridgwater South): One lane closed due to debris on the road
Clifton Suspension Bridge, Bristol: From 3.15pm on Saturday 7 December, the bridge closed to all traffic and pedestrians.
A367 in Somerset: The road is closed in both directions at Stratton on the Fosse due to a fallen tree
A377 in Devon: The road is blocked in both directions due to a fallen tree at The Portsmouth Arms Hotel and cottages
A429 in Gloucestershire: The road is blocked in both directions at Cold Aston due to a fallen tree between Farmington Quarry and the Yanworth turning.
A39 at Roborough in Devon: Closed both ways due to strong winds.
A399 in Devon: Closed both ways because of a fallen tree from A361 (Aller Cross, South Molton) to Rockshead Hill (Charles).
A396 Bolham Road in Devon: Shut both ways with heavy traffic due to fallen tree.
A386 Myrtle Street in Devon: Closed both ways and blocked because of a fallen tree between Broad Lane and Odun Road.
A374 in Cornwall: The road is closed in both directions due to a fallen tree. The section is shut from the A387 to the B3249.
A389 in Cornwall: Blocked due to fallen tree at the B3266. Traffic is coping well
A383 in Devon: Blocked both ways due to fallen tree from Newhouse Hill to Love Lane
A361 in Devon: Taw Bridge is closed both ways due to strong winds between B3149 Braunton Road and the A3125 (Sticklepath Junction)
A386 in Devon: Blocked both ways due to a fallen tree at Clarks Lane.
A3052 in Devon: Closed in both directions due to a fallen tree from A376 Sidmouth Road (Clyst St Mary) to B3184 (Woodbury Salterton).
A386 in Devon: Blocked both ways due to a fallen tree between Little Torrington Turn off (Little Torrington) and Peters Marland turn off (Peters Marland).
Luke Hindle, National Highways’ duty manager, said: “The conditions we are seeing across certain parts of the country remain very challenging, but we are doing everything we can to keep the country moving where it is safe to do so.
“Any closure is only put in place to protect the safety of the travelling public.
“While we continue to see the effects of Storm Darragh, we would encourage drivers to check the latest weather and travel conditions before setting off on journeys and consider if their journey is necessary and if it could be delayed until conditions improve.
“If you do intend to travel, then plan your journey, take extra care and allow yourself additional time.”
Flights cancelled and delayed
Flights have been severely delayed or cancelled at Bristol Airport. The airport is asking passengers to check with their airline before travelling.
No flights landed at Bristol Airport this morning with one diverted to Stansted, some cancelled entirely and others showing as "delayed" on the airport’s website.
Kiran Jethwa was travelling to Milan with her husband. They left home at 3.45am for a 7.35am flight.
She said: "It’s delays after delays. Lots of flights have been cancelled, we’ve been here since 5am.
"There have been several delays and we haven’t been informed by our airline that there would be a severe delay, so we left on time, but obviously it’s been delayed so we’ve been waiting."
Their flight started boarding at 1.30pm, six hours after the expected departure time.
Exeter Airport has also had to cancel one of two flights scheduled for today.
Newquay Airport shut from 2pm on Saturday 7 December. Staff will be back on-site on Sunday 8 December from 6am.
Rail cancellations
When services are running, speed restrictions are in place so journeys will take longer.
No services between Exeter St Davids and Okehampton
No services between Plymouth and Penzance
No services between Plymouth and Gunnislake
No services between Exeter St Davids and Barnstaple
No services between Liskeard and Looe
No services between St Erth and St Ives
No services between Par and Newquay
No services between Truro and Falmouth
No services between Barnstaple and Okehampton
No services between Cardiff Central and Gloucester
No services between Weymouth and Poole
No services between Carmarthen and Bristol Parkway
No services between Westbury and Salisbury due to fallen tree on the line
No service between Birmingham New Street and Gloucester
Ferries
All services between St Mawes and Falmouth are cancelled
Sports fixtures
Plymouth Argyle vs Oxford United - postponed
Bristol Rovers vs Bolton Wanderers - postponed
Bristol Bears Women v Exeter Chiefs Women - postponed
Flood warnings issued in Somerset
The Environment Agency has issued a number of flood warnings for Somerset.
Porlock Weir: The warning coincides with high tide along the Somerset coast at 10.15am and will be in place for two hours either side of high tide. Areas most at risk include the coastline between Gore Point and Hurlstone Point including properties on the lockside, businesses around the Harbour Masters office, Gibraltar Cottages and other low lying properties on the B3225 at Porlock Weir.
Curry Moor and Hay Moor: Low-lying land and roads near the River Tone and on Currymoor are flooded. The Environment Agency says it is continuing to pump water from the moors at Currymoor, Northmoor, Saltmoor and Stanmoor pumping stations, and will continue to do so whilst river levels allow.
Meteorologist Ellie Glaisyer from the Met Office spoke to ITV News West Country's Nick Smith.
Businesses impacted
Small businesses near the Bristol Channel in Somerset said tiles had flown off their buildings and they had faced delivery issues
Eleanor Sedgwick, a front-of-house supervisor at Scarlett’s in Clevedon, said the cafe didn't open all morning because it was “too big of a risk”.
She said: “The years that I’ve worked here, I’ve never had to close because of the weather, apart from when it snowed.”
Ms Sedgwick said four tiles fell off their roof but she felt the business had “got off quite lucky” compared to previous storms.
She said: “We’re very fortunate because we are the first sort of wall [the storm] hit, so it’s scary but I’m glad that everyone’s happy and safe.”
Ben England, manager of the Tiffin cafe on the same beachfront, said: “Last night we put all the [outside] chairs under wraps and tried to make it as secure as possible.
“Some of our deliveries didn’t make it through from Bristol, but I think we should be okay. I cancelled probably 80% of our staff that were coming in today, so it’s literally just the skeleton crew.”
Both Ms Sedgwick and Mr England said they were surprised at the number of customers venturing out.
A restaurant manager in Somerset said he was “worried” for people’s safety after Storm Darragh caused the roof of a nearby building to partly detach.
Part of Knightstone Road in Weston Super Mare was closed to pedestrians and traffic after pieces of an RNLI station were left flapping around in the strong winds.
Jimi, who was working in the Il Michelangelo restaurant situated on the road, said “If [the roof] does come off, God knows where it’s going to land. Hopefully it rips off smoothly and goes on the floor without causing any damage to anybody. We are worried for people more [than the restaurant].”
A number of local businesses on the Weston Super Mare parade were closed on Saturday 7 December while others had signs in their windows stating they would open in the evening.
But Jimi, who did not give his surname, said most of his bookings were looking “pretty positive” despite the nearby hazard. He said: “With the evening bookings, we have a couple of cancellations [but] a couple of other people wanted to come in at the moment, so nothing has changed.
“I have big tables confirmed. Some of them have dropped the numbers but at the moment it doesn’t seem like a crazy change.”