OH HEL
UK weather sees Storm Helene hit with 70mph wind sparking blackouts and rush hour travel chaos this morning
Yellow weather warnings have been issued for huge areas of Britain for the next two days
STORM Helene has hit the UK with 70mph gales sparking rush hour travel chaos this morning.
The sunny weather which saw the south east bask in 25C yesterday is but a distant memory as the powerful storm moved in from the west coast overnight.
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Helene will take hold of most of the country, prompting the Met Office to issue yellow weather warnings for today and tomorrow.
The storm alert for today covers most of Wales and England before moving northeastwards and affecting the north of England and Scotland tomorrow.
Commuters and motorists have been warned to prepare for disruption in the wake of the powerful storm.
A Met Office spokesperson said: "Expect potential for delays to road, rail, air and ferry transports.
Animation reveals Storm Helene warning areas as strong winds and heavy rain approaches the UK
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"Buses and trains could also take longer."
The Met Office says that Wales, the Midlands and much of northern England could be affected.
Parts of Devon have already reported power cuts with more than 100 homes left without electricity near Plymouth.
The Met Office said: "Power services are perhaps a bit more vulnerable because we’ve got trees that are still in-leaf and wind speeds of a certain magnitude can have more of an impact on trees when they’re in-leaf.
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"That can be a hazard because if you have trees in full-leaf then they can be more affected by the wind because it’s more like a sail.
"And when they come down they can obviously affect power supplies."
The storm is expected to affect the East and West Midlands and the east of England.
A separate windstorm later in the week on Wednesday will continue to batter the west coast even after Storm Helene clears.
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The Met Office said: "In some ways the winds from that look as though at the moment that they could be a bit more significant than Helene.
"We are looking at a potential warning for that."
Between Storm Helene tonight and the further winds on Wednesday, most of the country will have a wet and blustery week.
Rain is forecast to fall tomorrow from Cornwall to Yorkshire though temperatures will remain mostly in the teens and low 20s.
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The Met Office say that Helene's tropical hurricane origins made forecasts late last week look more serious than the latest data now suggests, but a larger area will be affected by the storm.
Helene was downgraded from a hurricane to a tropical storm by meteorologists who have tracked its progress across the Atlantic.
The Met Office said: "Probably the most noticeable thing really is the warm air."
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