Thousands of British families still dealing with the fallout from Storm Arwen have been informed of more chaos on the way as Storm Barra is set to hit tomorrow bringing up to four inches of snow, 70 mph winds and driving rain.
Around 3,200 homes, mainly in North East England, remained without power overnight ten days after Storm Arwen, and Barra, after a deep area of low pressure moved in from the Atlantic and is now set to have a significant impact.
The Met Office issued a warning covering the whole of England and Wales for tomorrow and into the night with winds of up to 70 mph expected in exposed seaside areas and about 50 mph in numerous regions.
It warns that short term loss of power is likely, which is sombre news for families who have already endured days of power cuts in the wake of Storm Arwen which hit supplies to more than one million homes on November 26.
The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said that 3,190 homes were still waiting to be reconnected as of 2 pm yesterday. This was down from 4,025 homes yesterday morning, with the majority in the North East of England.
Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) said power had been restored to all 135,000 of its affected customers by yesterday morning, but forecasters warned of another explosive event from the Atlantic tomorrow.
Now restoration crews are bracing for more disruption after meteorologists said electricity lines could be brought down again by the weather bomb, a phenomenon that occurs if the central section of a low-pressure system deepens by 24 millibars in 24 hours. It’s expected the storm building in the Atlantic will exceed that level.
The Irish weather service Met Éireann named it Storm Barra yesterday and the Met Office then followed suit.
Met Office meteorologist Annie Shuttleworth said a dusting of snow was expected on northern hills, such as the Peak and Lake District today, with showers and hail also giving a somewhat wintry feel.
She added that the snow was likely to create significant disruption on higher routes with delays to rail, air and road travel on higher ground.
The worst-hit northern areas could also see overnight temperatures fall to -6C (21F) and it may not get above freezing by day in those areas.
The Army continued to support residents without electricity over the weekend.
Winter usually means that we do get storms, winds, rain, sleet, snow and ice, so why do we need all these fangle dangled names for them, why don’t they just say there’s a huge storm on the way? We’ve had severe winters and storms for millions of years, so why all the excitement? All they should be doing is getting people ready for what’s coming without all the hysteria.
Perhaps it’s all part of the grand plan to make climate change a public health emergency. Next, they’ll be imposing lockdowns during a drought or whenever we get snow, it’s all about control.
Back when I was a kid they were just called weather fronts, and there are so many of them each year, it’s pointless naming all of them. Let’s face it they don’t give names to heatwaves.
It’s unfortunate that everyone lost their power supply but then like most things in Britain, power cables and towers are 20 years behind their intended lifespan anyhow.
People in Canada and Scandinavia must be laughing their heads off, but then they’re prepared for severe weather, whereas in England we’re never prepared for anything.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 