Storm Bert latest: ‘Multi-hazard weather event’ hits UK with snow, heavy rain and 82mph gusts – as 10 people rescued from North Wales landslide
Key points
- Storm Bert brings ‘multi-hazard event’ of snow, rain and wind to parts of UKFive children among 10 rescued in North Wales landslideThousands of properties left without powerFlood warnings continue to rise across the UKMan dies after tree falls on carExplained:Where are the weather warnings?|What do they mean?Check the forecast where you areLive reporting by Mark Wyatt
08:18:01 Have you been affected by the weather?
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23:10:01 Communities in Weymouth cancel events as summer resort battered by wind and rain
There could be up to a month’s worth of rainfall in the South West of England by the end of the weekend, says news correspondent Ashna Hurynag.
Ashna is in Weymouth, where snow, ice, wind, and rain have forced businesses to close and communities to cancel their Christmas events.
“I think it’s the breadth, but also the scope of this storm that’s really causing the alarm here,” she says.
Yellow weather warnings from the Met Office are currently in place in the South West until tomorrow evening, with the strongest gusts expected to reach 60-70mph in some areas.
“Here in Weymouth, this is traditionally a summer seaside resort – can you believe it? But they do still get those winter visitors today,” Ashna says.
“We’ve seen people here celebrating Christmas, early Christmas parties, events and such like and they’ve really taken a hit. Many of the businesses here decided to close up early because they’re worried about the impact of this weather conditions.
“Not only today, but also tomorrow events like Christmas lights, displays have been cancelled and football matches too.
“We’ve been told from meteorologists that we’re not out of the woods yet with the worst they say yet to come.
“But in areas like this in the South West of England, we might see up to a month’s worth of rainfall by the end of the weekend”.
22:40:01 Some North East England and Yorkshire residents to be without power overnight
Northern Powergrid says it has restored power to 25,600 of its customers that experienced blackouts due to Storm Bert.
In an update on X, it said engineers were working to restore the final customers still without power.
However, it added that some would remain without any electricity throughout the night.
22:17:28 Wind power currently generating more than 65% of Great Britain’s electricity
Storm Bert’s winds are currently helping to generate around 65% of Great Britain’s electricity.
Live data from the National Grid estimates that 65.7% of electricity in England, Wales, and Scotland is being generated by wind turbines as of 10.10pm this evening.
That’s almost double the estimated input over the last week from wind (33.4%).
Wind turbines generate power from the movement of air and can be located on land or at sea. Offshore wind turbines benefit from higher and more consistent wind speeds.
Great Britain has some of the world’s largest offshore wind farms in the shallow waters of the North Sea, while its exposed position in the Atlantic makes it one of the best locations for wind power generation.
Thanks to Strom Bert, in the last 24 hours alone, wind power generated across Great Britain has leapt from around 4.5 gigawatts (GW) to over 20 GW.
21:45:01 In pictures: UK battered by Storm Bert
Storm Bert has left its mark on all four corners of the UK so far this weekend.
The poor weather has seen areas of the country flooded, thousands of homes left without power and road, rail, and air passengers all experiencing delays and cancellations.
Yellow weather warnings for rain and wind as well as dozens of flood warnings remain in place across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland for the rest of the weekend.
Take a look at today’s scenes across the UK below.
21:11:06 Power back on for 11,000 properties in North West England
Electricity North West says it has restored power to 11,000 properties impacted by Storm Bert today.
Posting on X, it added that its engineers are working into the night to restore around 450 other properties without electricity.
Earlier this evening, energy secretary Ed Miliband said his department will be “keeping in close touch with the energy companies” as they seek to restore electricity to affected homes across the UK (see 20.23 post).
20:45:01 A look at the latest weather warnings
Storm Bert has brought heavy winds, rain, and snowfall across the UK.
The Met Office has altered some of its weather warnings in response to the storm this evening, removing one wind warning issued earlier in Scotland.
Here’s a look at the areas affected by weather warnings:
Scotland – A yellow weather warning for rain is in place until 7am tomorrow across Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, and Lothian and Borders.
East Midlands – A yellow warning for rain has been issued for Derbyshire until 7am tomorrow.
North West – A yellow warning for rain has been issued for Blackburn with Darwen, Cumbria, Greater Manchester, and Lancashire until 7am tomorrow.
Yorkshire and the Humber – South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire remain under a yellow warning for rain until 7am tomorrow.
Wales – A yellow weather warning for rain covers most of the country until 6am tomorrow. The area of the warning was extended this morning to cover more of northwest Wales, including Anglesey.
The Met Office says heavy rain is likely to cause some travel disruption and flooding, particularly across south Wales.
West Midlands – A yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for Herefordshire until 11.45pm tomorrow.
London and South East – A yellow warning for rain covers Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Portsmouth, Southampton, and West Berkshire. It is in place until 11.45pm tomorrow.
South West – A yellow warning for rain is in place across Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth Christchurch and Poole, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North, Somerset, Plymouth, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay and Wiltshire until 11.45pm tomorrow.
20:23:05 Energy secretary sends message to those who have lost power
Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has said his thoughts are with all those across the UK who have lost power due to Storm Bert.
Posting on X, he said his department will be “keeping in close touch with the energy companies” as they seek to restore electricity to the affected homes.
The National Grid’s electricity distribution network, which connects directly to homes and businesses in the Midlands, South West England and South Wales, said earlier this evening that there were currently 4,345 properties without power.
While Northern Powergrid said nearly 27,00 homes across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire have experienced power cuts today.
In Ireland, ESB Networks said 11,000 customers remain without power, predominantly in counties Donegal, Sligo, Mayo and Galway.
20:05:01 Who comes up with storm names?
In the UK, the Met Office names any storm when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage.
It believes that it is easier to follow the progress of a storm on TV, radio, or social media if it has a name.
The list of names runs from early September to late August the following year, to coincide with the start of autumn and the end of summer, when the likelihood of low-pressure systems and the potential for named storms increase.
When the criteria for naming a storm are met, either the Met Office, the Met Éireann (Ireland) or Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI can name it, taking from the latest list in alphabetical order.
The list includes names suggested by the public, while others have been named after prominent scientists, meteorologists and those “who work to keep people safe in times of severe weather”.
Storm Bert is the second named storm of the 2024/25 season, following Storm Ashley, which hit the UK in mid-October.
The next named storm to hit will be called Conall, followed by Darragh, Eowyn and Floris.
19:45:01 Further heavy rain and strong winds expected tomorrow
The Met Office said it expects Storm Bert to continue hitting the UK tomorrow with more heavy rain and strong winds.
There are currently yellow weather warnings in place across most of the South West, Wales, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland tomorrow.
Forecasters shared an overview of the forecast, which you can see below.
19:35:01 Your pictures: Cornwall covered by blanket of snow
Throughout the day, we have been asking our readers to get in touch with their photos and videos.
Many of you have been sending us messages on WhatsApp, showing us pictures of the snow brought by Storm Bert.
Here’s a selection of some of them coming from Minions in Cornwall – and if you haven’t sent yours in yet, you still can here.