LIL’ NIGHTMARE
Brits brace for Storm Lilian round 2 after 73mph winds sparked saw flights cancelled, cars CRUSHED and homes destroyed
Full list of all areas covered by the latest yellow warning below
BRITS are bracing for Storm Lilian round two over the weekend - with 73mph winds having already seen flights cancelled, cars crushed and homes destroyed.
The Met Office has issued another severe warning for Saturday, with torrential downpours forecast across large stretches of the UK.
17
17
17
17
17
17
The yellow warning comes into place from 6am until 1pm on Saturday across the East of England, London and the South East.
As much as 70mm of rain could fall in parts and flooding is a possibility.
The Environment Agency currently has one flood warning and 27 alerts in place for England, while the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has two alerts and Natural Resources Wales has seven.
Met Office records show Lilian brought gusts of 73mph to Capel Curig in Gwynedd, 70mph in Crosby, Merseyside, and Lake Vyrnwy, Powys, on Friday.
Read More UK News
BANK HOLIDAY PLANS RUINED
Brits have seen their Bank Holiday plans grind to a halt with roads blocked and trains axed as the storm descended on Friday.
British Airways has already scrapped 16 flights at Heathrow Airport with others delayed as Storm Lilian continues her rampage.
The axed flights include international routes to Italy, Switzerland and the US as well as domestic journeys to Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Meanwhile, flights coming into Leeds Bradford, which is the UK’s highest airport, have been diverted to Liverpool.
Most read in The Sun
The gusty weather has also interrupted festivities, with incredible footage showing tents flying through the sky.
Met Eireann says weather warnings under review as heavy rain to batter Ireland
As strong winds hit Leeds Festival, organisers urged people camping to "stay in your tents if you are onsite and feel safe to do so".
Organisers have been forced to shut down some of its stages amid severe weather warnings.
The organiser, Festival Republic, said on X that it would be unable to open the main arena on time and would not be opening the BBC Radio 1 or Aux stages at all on Friday.
Storm Lilian has caused chaos at Reading festival and Creamfields festival.
The relentless storm has continued to cause mayhem across the travel network with multiple trains cancelled and delayed.
Powerful gusts were reported to have knocked over a tree in Newington, Kent, which has been left blocking the railway.
As it was careening along the tracks, a train ploughed into the tree and "sustained significant damage", according to National Rail.
Drivers across the country are also facing long delays as the howling winds of the storm take hold.
Shocking footage showed a lorry dangerously close to teetering over while driving on the Humber Bridge in Yorkshire.
The high-sided vehicle saw its right two wheels pushed into the air by powerful gusts as it appeared to lean precariously over the barriers of the 100ft bridge.
Meanwhile, a felled tree has caused 30 minute delays on the M6 outside Knutsford, Cheshire, after it fell on the carriageway.
Five-day weather forecast
Here's all you need to know about the weather in the coming days
This evening and tonight
Blustery showers will continue in the north tonight, with some heavy bursts in the northwest.
Drier across the south this evening, before an area of rain pushes into southern parts during the early hours.
Saturday
Heavy rain moves across the south through the morning, clearing the southeast by the afternoon.
Sunshine and heavy showers follow, with winds increasing in the north. Feeling cooler.
Sunday to Tuesday
Showers in north on Sunday, but drier further south. A fine day on Monday with pleasant sunny spells.
Warmer in the south on Tuesday, but further rain in the north.
And a number of trees were also reported to have fallen in Bradford with parts of the M1 held up by "debris" on the road.
The M48 Severn Bridge has been closed in both directions due to the storm.
Road users are advised to use the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge as an alternate route.
Almost all Metrolink lines have been suspended "due to the storm bringing down multiple trees across the network".
Gusts of up to 80mph could be on the cards as more than 60,000 homes across the north of England were left without power or facing supply issues.
One man was left in shock after a huge tree crashed down on his home in Bury during the storm.
Anthony Brittain was watching television when he was startled by an almighty "bang".
He said: "I was watching telly and all I heard was this massive bang.
"My dogs jumped out of their skin. It's damaged the roof so there are two holes in my attic."
Northern Powergrid said it has experienced "high levels of disruption to power supplies with over 63,418 customers having been affected so far".
The worst affected area is West Yorkshire, it added. It said it has managed to "reconnect more than 27,000 customers of those who have been impacted".
SP Energy Networks reported power cuts in Cheshire, including in Chester, Knutsford and Warrington, while 300 homes in Durham and were left without power overnight.
In north Staffordshire, more than 1,300 households were affected by outages.
The National Grid said other areas of the country could be affected by disruptions to power.
17
17
17
17
17
17
17
In Greater Manchester, Bolton food festival, which is expected to attract about 500,000 visitors over the bank holiday weekend, was delayed in starting due to the inclement weather.
Chaotic pictures posted online showed stalls blown over by powerful winds while food and bottles littered the ground.
Bolton council said it had asked staff based in the town centre to work from home, and said the town hall was closed until further notice.
Numerous yellow weather warnings were in place across the UK this morning as the storm makes landfall.
A warning for rain covering the South East until 1pm on Saturday urges people to be wary of a possible risk of flooding.
London, Canterbury, Brighton and Portsmouth are just some of the regions affected.
15 to 30 mm of rain is likely to fall widely and as much as 50 to 70 mm rain could accumulate in a few places.
A wind warning covering north Wales, northern England and southern Scotland was active until 11am on Friday.
Forecasters warned of damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs.
The flying debris poses a "danger to life" along with large waves on the sea front, forecasters said.
Yellow rain warnings, which have since expired, were also in force for south west Scotland and Aberdeenshire until 9am.
Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: "The strongest winds are likely to start forming through the early hours initially across parts of north Wales into the Liverpool, Blackpool area, and then crossing over the Pennines and into the east and north-east England - Yorkshire, up to Northumberland - before then clearing out into the North Sea.
"It's really quite quick."
Saturday will also see heavy rainfall across southern England - but this should clear by mid-afternoon.
Is your area affected by Saturday's warning?
Here's a list of all the places likely to be affected by Saturday's rain warning:
The yellow warning is in place from 6am to 1pm.
East of England
- Essex
- Southend-on-Sea
- Suffolk
- Thurrock
London & South East England
- Brighton and Hove
- East Sussex
- Greater London
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight
- Kent
- Medway
- Portsmouth
- Surrey
- West Sussex
The rest of the weekend will be dry and fine, though temperatures will be a little nippy.
But the north west will have to endure more showers and strong winds throughout the Bank Holiday weekend.
The RAC estimates 19.2 million leisure trips by car will be made over the weekend, with 3.2 million on Friday alone.
This is highest since the motoring services company began recording data for the summer bank holiday in 2015.
RAC Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson said the adverse weather and large volume of expected trips represents "a perfect storm" for drivers.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
She said: "Anyone driving in areas impacted by Storm Lilian should try to avoid exposed coasts and higher routes where there's a greater chance of fallen branches and trees. It's vital to lower your speeds and leave plenty of extra stopping distance to allow yourself time to react quickly.
"Drivers should keep a firm grip on the steering wheel and take extra care when passing high-sided vehicles which can cause an unnerving buffeting effect when you're suddenly hit by the wind on the other side."
17
17
17
17
Topics