Storm Dennis thread - forecasts and reports

[OhYouBadBadKitten]

i'm just plonking this here, will be back later to fill in the details, but the Met Office have just named Storm Dennis for Sunday the 15th Feb.

In the mean time, here have a load of weather warnings including an amber for snow.
www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings#?date=2020-02-11

It's nothing to do with London. It's all to do with a)Press being more alert to storms and their impact after the first one b) the enhanced flooding risk along rivers, including the Severn.

Got to do loads of travelling today, including being driven by a relative of DP's who is absolutely lovely but not the most reliable driver at the best of times . All for a family event which DP's family seem happy to go ahead with. I'm bricking it, DP says I'm being over-dramatic (Kent area).

I'm going to go out today. My general personal rule, is, keep an eye on things if it's a Yellow warning and change what I do if it is an Amber warning.
However, I'm not responsible for anything that happens to anyone who follows my own rule

So, it looks like I might actually get to London this week and hopefully back again Faulty Towers this week.
No real sign of Dennis yet in Beds.

flouncy I've got a couple of friends who will say the night before, 'lets see what it's like in the morning' as though forecasts are that unreliable these days 🤦

Well the rain has arrived in Dublin but winds
Are not nearly as bad as last weekend (yet). DH just gone out to do a couple of small jobs and I'll be out later for another set of jobs. But all local. We already cancelled the kids sailing coaching tomorrow on the basis of expected yellow warnings.

Windy since I woke up in S Worcs. Just about to head off to shops for supplies, which might include plenty of wine.
My commute to work is through Tewkesbury and down the A38 but sometimes I use the roads on the west side of the Severn. There is so much water near Gloucester...the fields are covered. It’s like driving with a lake on one side, river on the other.
I think it’ll be an early start on Monday, and the motorway (which I hate because it’s often slower, but doesn’t flood).

We have rain at the minute, not what I'd call too heavy though, and the wind doesn't seem too bad, though I haven't been out.
Dh is working all day again, hope it's not too bad with him cycling

This is an interesting way to present expected rainfall totals. Note that this is for 24 hours. The SE amber warning isn't until tomorrow. You can see clearly why I'm so concerned about the Severn and rivers that link into it.

Wind is just starting to get up where I am in Yorkshire. It's been raining all morning.

Actually, rain has now eased off again (although the kind of squally line that OYBBK pointed out for thunder are off the west coast around Clare/Galway). But wind has picked up and got very very gusty as well.

I'm due to fly out of Bristol tomorrow. All easyJet flights have been cancelled today and I've been looking for this thread as my reliable info source. It's wet and windy here in Somerset but not really strong winds yet

@ScorpionQueen the forecast for the Severn/Avon area (Bristol) is that the wind speed will reach a high point of around 55mph this afternoon and through the night.

By tomorrow mid day, it should have dropped right back. So if your flight is tomorrow afternoon, you should be a lot better than had you flown today (I heard on the radio that EasyJet is offering substitute flight up to next Wednesday).

Just packing up ready for off. Amber rain and yellow wind. Prefer to travel in daylight hours and planned to leave very shortly, but delaying by at least a couple of hours to see if things improve. Mainly country roads, which I'm used to, but two hazards now - so-called Smart motorways and Dennis the Menace. Wish us luck.

Be careful out there, people.

M48 Severn Bridge is not surprisingly closed in one direction (East bound), and restricted in the other (West bound). Almost certainly will be fully closed in both direction by end of the day.

Last Monday a high sided lorry was blown into the central reservation and turned on its side, when the tarpaulin was caught in the wind like a sail, and the vehicle went out of control. The driver was thankfully not injured, but must have been very shocked. They won't take any chances now, and will divert high sided vehicles to the Prince of Wales Bridge on the M4.

@OhYouBadBadKitten thanks for the visualisations, they are really helpful. The danger zone for the Severn will be at the top of the estuary towards Newnham-on-Severn (where people ride the Severn Bore tidal flows in the spring). The river is closer to ground level there, so more danger of flooding.

Just a bit wet in West Yorkshire today, winds not got up to speed yet.

Rain just started in earnest in E/W Sussex border.

It's been raining here for an hour (w Sussex/Surrey border) and is quite breezy.

Wind has picked up now. Still raining but not heavy.

Think he is just about arriving in West Yorkshire...

Well we made it up to London but it was already looking like this from the train after Taunton on the levels late morning.

We have to drive from Devon to st austell tomorrow. I'm hoping it does tail off around the middle of the day. We're still under a yellow warning but the smaller roads might be flooded, I hope the A30 is ok as the day does on. We certainly won't leave early like originally planned.

Still nothing doing where I am in Ribble Valley - just a normal drizzly breezy Lancs day

It was all hands on deck this morning filling & stacking sandbags in the villages badly affected here last weekend - sand & bags donated & dropped off by (among others) Travis Perkins & Jewsons so a big 👏🏻 to them! (Environment Agency also involved.)

Hats off to the Highlanders who've been deployed to help with flood defences in Yorkshire.