Winter woes as rain and wind batters the UK by Sean Batty
Even though the festivities have started and people are preparing for Christmas the weekend was full of wintry weather woes to start December.
Strong winds and heavy rain lashed the UK and Ireland from north to south, and are still currently affecting some parts.
Northern Ireland
Strong winds whistled up the Irish Sea driving huge waves into Northern Irelands south facing coast, with the town of Ardglass taking the brunt of the seas force. A huge wave killed a man after slamming into the Ardglass harbour in County Down.
Scotland
Scotland took the brunt of the rain which was thrown across the UK.
The A78 was shut between Skelmorlie and Largs early on Sunday after the road was submerged under flood-water.
Rivers in the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway and in the northeastern county of Angus are threatening to burst their banks and alerts are in place for some western coastal areas.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), have issued severe flood warnings for 6 rivers across the country along with 9 flood warnings.
Winds also caused havoc here with the Erskine Bridge closed on Sunday to high-sided vehicles and a number of people had to be rescued from the water in Dalgety Bay, Fife, after a strong gust of wind knocked over a series of dinghies.
A wind gust in excess of 70mph was recorded at Luechars and Tiree in the west recorded the highest gust of 78mph.
People in Scotland should keep an eye on the SEPA website if they are concerned about flooding in their area.
Wales
Wales took the strongest wind in the UK on Sunday with an astonishing 99mph gust being recorded at Pembrey Sands and a 98mph one at Mumbles, near Swansea. It should however be noted that both these areas are very exposed to the wind as they are coastal stations.
England
Strong winds and heavy rain left thousands without power across the south and southwest of the country. In the southwest at Culdrose and Plymouth winds peaked at nearly 90mph on Sunday, bringing down trees and power lines.
Devon and Cornwall police reported localised flooding and some structural damage to buildings.
Brixham coastguards in Devon said the heavy seas had sunk two vessels and damaged many other small craft.
Power was also lost in hundreds of homes much further inland in Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire to name but a few counties. Central Networks reported at least 12,000 people without power across the West Midlands on Sunday afternoon.
Forecast
The weather is still very stormy in Scotland, but it is slowly easing. Winds are still gusting 50-60mph in Glasgow and Edinburgh. The wind has been battering across the Grampians with a gust of 127mph being recorded at the Met Office station on the Cairngorms, based just over 1,200 metres above sea level.
The winds are expected to ease for most throughout the day although stronger winds are expected to return to the south coast of England later this evening with gusts of 60mph possible.
The next week looks rather unsettled with another deep area of low pressure expected to move towards the UK on Thursday and Friday.
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