Autumn storms continue to batter the UK - winter in waiting by Sean Batty
The UK, again, was battered by strong winds and lashing rain on Thursday.
The news in the past 24 hours has been filled with reports on the tornado that hit Kensal Rise in the west of London, which has diverted our attention from the other areas that had been affected by yesterday's stormy conditions.
A line of thunderstorms, called a squall line, moved across London on Thursday morning spawning a tornado as it intensified. I myself live in west London and witnessed the sky going very dark and very gusty winds as the storm crossed overhead and headed for the Kensal area.
Around a hundred homes were damaged in Kensal Rise as roofs were ripped off houses and trees were up-rooted. One man was taken to hospital with a head injury and five people were treated at the scene for minor injuries and shock.
Southampton was also hit by stormy conditions, where very strong winds tore the roof off a block of flats in the St. Mary's area. No-one was injured in this incident, however nearby cars were said to have been damaged by flying debris.
Winds also battered much of the south coast with Portland, only several miles from Weymouth, reporting wind gusts up to 77mph on Thursday afternoon. At the Solent station, close to Southampton winds gusted up to 68mph.
Strong winds also battered much of Wales, especially along the southern and western coastal areas, where the strongest gust of the day was reported, at Mumbles, near Swansea. A gust of 88mph was reported at the site. Just around the bay at Aberavon, near Port Talbot roofing sheets were torn off the Aquadrome sports centre.
Strong winds and heavy rain closed numerous roads and schools across Wales, while some Irish Sea ferry crossings were also cancelled.
In Scotland and Northern Ireland it was a much quieter day, with fairly light winds. Scotland had many severe flood warnings over the last few days, all of which have now been cleared but a few flood warning are still in force.
Today and Saturday will see a bit of a respite from the stormy weather, but as seems the way of it now, there is always more to come, with Sunday into Monday looking potentially stormy and very wet. Keep your eye on the website for further updates.
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