Storm Ciaran, walking to school.

[JIGNAJAY]

Anyone else wondered if it'll be safe to walk to and from school tomorrow with weather warnings in place? We have a 20ish min walk and I don't have a car. Considering booking a taxi but am counting every penny. Or am I being ott and walk will likely be fine? Already very windy here.

It's a tree. You can see the roots - it's been torn out of the ground by the winds.

My husband's family in the Channel Islands have a red warning and have been advised to stay at home.

I work in a school in Devon and we are closed tomorrow by advice from the county council.

@Notanotherhousepost

With a forecast pressure reading almost the same as the 87 storm and we all know what happened when people disregarded that warning too.

What will make it worse is the 87 storm was overnight so everyone in bed. Highest winds are forecast at 6am....when everyone is off to work.

I live in Cornwall. There is main road locally that has a beach/cliff top with a fence on one side. When it’s windy (as in averagely windy) I can feel my car being rocked by the wind as I drive along there.

When it’s windier, it can be dangerous. My DH and I once had to stop as we saw an elderly woman hanging on to a fence so that she wasn’t blown over, and we took her in our car to where she needed to be. That wasn’t an official “storm” either, just a windy day.

You have no idea where the OP lives. There is more to this country than just the area that you live in!

It’s a massive tree stump. You can tell it’s a massive tree stump because it looks like a tree stump which is massive.

No it didn’t fall off a lorry. Have a look at the thread title and try to figure it out.

It is clean cut though? And hasn't come from there? I don't understand what I am looking at. How can the wind have picked up a clean cut tree and moved it to a road and lay it down again? That's why I think it must have fallen off a lorry or something? Not that I am suggesting anyone goes out and looks to see if they can find any more clues -please don't!

tree stumps don't blow over

There seem to be quite a lot of schools closed.

Hampshire:

www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/people/hampshire-schools-closed-live-updates-as-storm-ciaran-forces-schools-to-close-due-to-severe-weather-4394120

Suffolk:

www.suffolknews.co.uk/bury-st-edmunds/news/amp/storm-ciar-n-all-the-schools-closed-due-to-dangerous-weathe-9337757/

No chance that my boys walking in with amber gales of ~60mph forecast for 8-10am. Even getting an empty coke can in the face at 60mph would smash your nose in - no thanks.

I blame the unnecessary warnings that terrify people. The absolute freak accidents that happen in this weather, projected and reported on over an over again.

Just exasperates the problem of people being unwilling/unable to think for themselves and take any risk, however minuscule.

I am wondering what to do too. We are in Sussex which looks to be right in the amber zone. No car and would be walking to school. In town rather than rural but there are of course plenty of trees and other obstacles along the way.

@icewoman the cut end is on the left, the roots are on The right.

It may well have been a partially felled tree but it's definitely showing roots and if ut had fallen off a lorry there'd be a lorry close by waiting for something to help move it! They wouldn't have just driven off!

Of course they do, their root system is rotten so they are much less anchored than a living tree. This one was towards the top of the steep bank of the sunken road, the soil (sand really) is saturated, down it went.

*I blame the unnecessary warnings that terrify people. The absolute freak accidents that happen in this weather, projected and reported on over an over again.

Just exasperates the problem of people being unwilling/unable to think for themselves and take any risk, however minuscule.*

How is it unnecessary to warn people of high winds, and the possibility of falling trees and flying debris?

And I think you mean exacerbates not exasperates!

I would wait it out but I would be expecting school to be closed tomorrow. We are on holiday on the West Sussex coast atm and my DH has been going on about the storm all week and of course I scoffed at him because he is a glass half full person. Now wondering whether we should have come here as winds of up to 85mph are expected tomorrow and we are right next to the sea.

Lovely.

When you go for a stroll in 80mph -110mph winds in the morning through a beautiful avenue of trees as my children have to do, you can post a video and then tell us all how silly we are.

Just weather tends not to fell trees, damage houses, flood towns and villages or knock the tops off lighthouses. We have this easy to understand way of knowing if it's likely or highly likely to be more than just weather in the form of these severe weather warnings.

I am in Hampshire too, but right on the northern tip so well away from the coast. I was meant to be going into London tomorrow but have delayed until Friday.

I can assure the pp who claims bad weather has never affected her plans, it does when trains are cancelled or roads are too icy to pass safely! Nonsensical claim.

o ok, it fell down the bank. Not wind related though

I would very much advise staying away from the sea front. I've been on a hen do in Brighton (not saying you're in bton, but south coast) in my younger years, ill-advised in a storm. We left the club and literally clung to lamp posts and window sills along the front to try and get in a taxi. And that wasn't a hurricane, just a stormy night. It was bloody scary and we were lucky we got back in one piece! High winds on the seafront are no joke!

@icewoman have you never seen the aftermath of a storm before or something?

@Daisychainsandglitter I should clarify, I mean wait it out indoors, not leave your holiday!

@Shutthedoormargaret thank you- we're actually at Butlin's Bognor Regis so not literally staying on the seafront but are close!

I'm on the south coast just outside of Brighton and we're predicted to be at 11 on the Beaufort scale. Minimum 85mph winds. That's motorway speeds.

If any of those of here think that's just a light breeze they're deluded or just trolling the board! Roofs are ripped off at those speeds!

It may die down and lose momentum (we can hope) but I'd rather that than not warn anyone and risk people's lives.