More than 30 flood alerts issued as Storm Aiden hammers Wales
Severe flooding has already been seen and there’s worse to come.
More than 30 flood alerts are in place across Wales today (October 31) as Storm Aiden continues to bring torrential rain and wind to the UK.
Named by the Met Eireann, the storm was predicted to unleash around 20-30mm of rain on Saturday, with 40-60mm across higher ground and as much as 80mm in the wettest places.
Already the storm has caused severe flooding in North Wales, after the River Conwy burst its banks on Friday.
Travel disruption was reported in areas of Gwynedd and Conwy after a number of roads were closed or badly flooded, including the A498 in Beddgelert and the A4086 in both directions from Pont Pen-y-benglog to Llanberis.
Despite a weather warning for rain ending at 2pm on Saturday, another is due to come into force in Wales on Sunday as the remanants of ex-Hurricane Zeta sweeps the UK.
The warning is due to begin at 6pm on Sunday and last into the early hours of Monday.
As the weekend continues, the Met Office is warning that homes and businesses could become flooded, causing damage to some buildings.
Fast flowing or deep floodwater is is also possible, “causing a danger to life”, they said.
People should prepare for delays or cancellations to train and bus services. Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures.
In the meantime, a yellow weather warning for strong winds continues on Saturday.
According to the Met Office: “A belt of very strong and possibly squally southerly winds will develop on Saturday morning with gusts of 60-65 mph, perhaps 70 mph on exposed coasts and hills.”
The strong winds are likely to cause leaves to fall from trees, increasing drainage problems and exacerbating flooding in some areas.
As of Saturday afternoon, 34 flood alerts were in place across Wales.
According to the forecast from Natural Resources Wales, local flooding from rivers and surface water is probable across Wales and the Upper River Severn on Saturday.
Courtesy of walesonline.co.uk
Storm Ianos: Two dead after ‘medicane’ lashes Greece and sparks islands emergency #StormIanos #Medicane #Greece
At least two people have been killed after a “medicane” – a rare Mediterranean hurricane – toppled trees, cut power and flooded streets in Greece.
Storm Ianos hit the Ionian islands and the western Peloponnese on Friday before lashing the centre of the country on Saturday.
Greece’s weather agency warned of damage and threat to life as it issued alerts for many areas.
An elderly woman was found dead in a flooded house in Farsala and the body of 63-year-old man was discovered near a hospital in Karditsa.
“We’re dealing with a total catastrophe,” one Farsala resident told state television.
Areas of Karditsa, one of Greece’s biggest plains – around 125 miles (200km) north of Athens, were swamped with water and a bridge collapsed.
The fire service said it had received more than 2,450 calls since the storm began – to rescue people, cut down trees and pump water from houses and businesses.
Five boats also sank off the holiday islands of Zakynthos (also known as Zante) and Lefkada on Friday, said the coastguard.
Greece’s civil protection agency declared a state of emergency on Kefalonia, Ithaca and Zakynthos as power was cut in many areas.
Kefalonia’s mayor, Theofilos Michalatos, said no one was hurt but that homes, roads and water facilities had been damaged.
The storm reached the Athens area on Saturday but there have so far been no reports of damage. Trains between the capital and the second city of Thessaloniki were suspended.
A medicane is a hybrid phenomenon with “some characteristics of a tropical cyclone and others of a mid-latitude storm”, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization.
They have strong winds spinning around a central core and torrential rain, but are smaller in diameter than hurricanes and don’t last as long – typically 24 to 48 hours.
Such storms first appeared in Greece in 1995 and, while far less common than hurricanes, have become more frequent in recent years.
Courtesy of Sky News
#RedAlert Issued as Severe #Storms, #Flooding and #Blizzards Hits Parts of #Spain
At least a foot of snow covers a driveway, gate and trees in Biar, Alicante. It is several kilometres inland from the coast
Spain’s Costa Blanca and Valencian coastline have been pummelled by a vicious storm this morning, shutting Alicante airport, flooding homes and blanketing areas with at least a foot of snow.
Flights to London, Newcastle, Bristol, Edinburgh and other major cities were cancelled as the airport shut for the day, forcing holidaymakers to either travel to a different airport or sit tight until the dangerous weather moved on.
Towering waves have been pictured slamming into the coastline while, in Denia, seawater was filmed gushing through the streets of the city.
Snow drifts have also built up inland as a seven-hour shower in Villena, Valencia, left the city’s 35,000 inhabitants cut off after up to three inch piles of the white stuff blocked roads.
A red alert was issued for Storm Gloria yesterday, before it smashed into the region, warning it would bring heavy rain, snow, up to 75mph winds and waves that could reach eight feet in height.
It is expected to move towards the north-west of Spain tomorrow, with the bad weather unlikely to subside before Wednesday, the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) said.
A 54-year-old Romanian woman died from hypothermia in Gandia, Valencia, following the vicious weather, local media reports. A 44-year-old man also died yesterday when he was run over by a van that lost control in snow-covered Santander, Asturias.
Terrifying footage shows waves sweeping into Denia, Alicante and appearing to surround people trapped in their cars.
The beach in Javea, further down the coast, has been pictured strewn with rubble and bits of wood washed up as the storm battered the headland.
Storefronts were also pictured smashed on the city’s contents, with glass panels and furniture strewn across the pavement outside.
Waves have been filmed rearing up to several feet high before slamming against the coastline in Calpe, Alicante, by the Alicante Meteorological Project.
The river Algar, in the mountains, has also been filmed bursting its banks and gushing over a tourist viewing platform at the Algar waterfall in a torrent of rapidly moving water.
As the storm hammered its way over the Spanish mainland the rain froze, causing a deluge of snow to fall over inland areas in the interior of Valencia and Alicante.
The 35,000 residents of Villen, Valencia, were isolated this morning after a seven-hour snowfall left snow drifts between two and three inches high blocking roads into and out of the town.
Courtesy of dailymail.co.uk
#Hurricane force winds of 121mph batters #CairngormNationalPark, #Scotland
Hurricane force winds of 121mph batters Cairngorm National Park, Scotland courtesy of Storm Brendan coupled with blizzards
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