Published Saturday 20 January 2024 at 12:34
Meteologists have placed the entire UK under a 24-hour yellow wind warning from Sunday, January 21, to Monday, January 22.
The Met Office have issued an Amber Weather Warning for strong winds in the west, expected to impact Blackburn with Darwen from 6pm on Sunday until 9am on Monday morning.
Gusts in excess of 70mph are expected.
Road, rail and elsewhere in the country, air and ferry services may be impacted during the storm.
The Met Office advises heavy rain will cause additional hazards in the west.
Some disruption to travel might be expected on Monday morning and there may be some trees down and power outages during the worst of the winds.
Electricity North West advise that any outages are likely to be short-term. You can prepare by going online to PowerCut105.com for advice and call Electricity North West’s public number ‘105’ for free if you have a power cut.
Please do check in with people who might need extra help, and share this information so friends and family know what to do too.
If you see damaged power lines or lines brought down over the coming days, stay well clear and call 105 to report it, or dial 999 if there’s an immediate danger to life.
There will also be a possibility of surface water flooding and debris on the roads so please drive according to conditions and be aware that you may come across unexpected hazards.
Please take precautions now to prevent any damage to your home or property:
Before the storm
- Secure loose objects such as ladders, garden furniture, trampolines or anything else that could be blown into windows and other glazing and break them
- Close and securely fasten doors and windows, particularly those on the windward side of the house, and especially large doors such as those on garages
- Park vehicles in a garage, if available; otherwise keep them clear of buildings, trees, walls and fences
- Close and secure loft trapdoors with bolts, particularly if roof pitch is less than 30°
During the storm
- Stay indoors as much as possible
- If you do go out, try not to walk or shelter close to buildings and trees
- Keep away from the sheltered side of boundary walls and fences – if these structures fail, they will collapse on this side
- Do not go outside to repair damage while the storm is in progress
- If possible, enter and leave your house through doors in the sheltered side, closing them behind you
- Open internal doors only as needed, and close them behind you
- Take care when driving on exposed routes such as bridges, or high open roads, delay your journey or find alternative routes if possible
- Slow down and be aware of side winds, particular care should be taken if you are towing or are a high sided vehicle
- Do not drive unless your journey is really necessary. Allow additional time for your journey if necessary
- Never drive through floodwater or swollen flowing water, you don’t know how deep it is. Find an alternative route
- Reduce your speed and leave more space between you and the vehicle in front and leave plenty of room if you’re overtaking;
- Drive with care and according to the conditions.
- Listen to local radio for updates on current weather conditions
After the storm
- Be careful not to touch any electrical/telephone cables that have been blown down or are still hanging
- Do not walk too close to walls, buildings and trees as they could have been weakened
- Make sure that any vulnerable neighbours or relatives are safe and help them make arrangements for any repairs
- Be alert to fallen trees and branches, particularly on minor roads where they may not have been reported;
- For more information and travel advice visit our BwD Roads pages on Facebook and Twitter (X)
All agencies are on standby throughout the weekend.
Our Highways team will be monitoring our roads and surface water flooding.
Who to contact…
- For sewers and burst water mains contact United Utilities: 0345 6722999
- BwDs emergency contact number for public drains or flooded roads, is 01254 585585.
- Contact the Environment Agency to report collapsed or badly damaged river banks, flooding from main rivers or the sea, main rivers blocked by a vehicle or fallen tree. Environment Agency Incident Hotline: 0800 80 70 60 or their flood line 0345 988 1188.
Stay safe 🙂