Why we all need to be prepared for extreme weather around Christmas - Jayne Dowle

Is the old Chris Rea song, ‘Driving Home For Christmas’ going round in your head? If you’ve recently arrived from a festive journey, or are about to embark on a trek, you’ll likely be either extremely relieved or trepidatious.

It’s not just the inevitable roadworks, the kids arguing in the back, or that nagging feeling you have likely forgotten something. It’s the ominous threat of extreme weather.

Emma Pinchbeck, the new head of the government's independent climate advisory body, the Climate Change Committee, has warned that the government – and therefore the country – is “not ready” for the sort of extreme weather we’ve seen most lately with Storm Darragh.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said the UK is "off track" and must do more to prepare for scenarios such as intense heat and flooding.

A flood warden pushing a boat in floodwater in Hereford, Herefordshire, after Storm Darragh hit the UK. PIC: Jacob King/PA WireA flood warden pushing a boat in floodwater in Hereford, Herefordshire, after Storm Darragh hit the UK. PIC: Jacob King/PA Wire
A flood warden pushing a boat in floodwater in Hereford, Herefordshire, after Storm Darragh hit the UK. PIC: Jacob King/PA Wire

Storm Darragh, the fourth serious storm to hit the UK since mid-October. brought 96mph winds over the second weekend in December with death, destruction, disruption to transport and thousands left without power.

By the Sunday, I noticed that some newspaper online sites were hardly giving Storm Darragh a mention in news coverage; as Ms Pinchbeck warns, we cannot become blasé. But nor can we become prisoners. We’re all being asked now to make weather/travel judgement calls we never expected.

The weekend of Storm Darragh, my teenage daughter and I had landed early Saturday morning at Leeds-Bradford following a few days away in Dublin, then drove straight to Kent, for a family first birthday party, then London to drop my son with his girlfriend, then back to South Yorkshire that night, whilst the wind and rain raged around us.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

We’d have stayed over but my daughter was off to York Christmas Market on the Sunday – even though it had been cancelled due to adverse weather on the Saturday.

Sounds hectic, but it’s only what countless families do at this time of year. Planning the logistics are always taxing enough; in recent years, however, we also face the major challenge of extreme weather.

This epic trip of several hundred miles is not an experience I’d like to repeat; but what could we do?

Everything was planned like clockwork, we had a boot-full of birthday presents – several other family members down south have December celebrations – and Christmas presents.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

My son was waiting patiently at home for a lift to see his girlfriend, with expensive theatre tickets booked, and it was now or never.

Our plane had landed safely, and we silently cheered. However, our friends’ plane, scheduled to leave Dublin at 11.05am, departed half an hour late, tried to land at Leeds-Bradford twice but failed in high winds, got diverted to Glasgow, where it also failed to land, and ended up back in Dublin. My friends finally arrived home, via Manchester Airport, around midnight.

It takes some to top that particular extreme weather-related experience. I’ll just say that driving over the 137-metre high Queen Elizabeth II suspension bridge crossing the River Thames at Dartford in buffeting winds is not an experience I would like to repeat ever again.

I tried to remind myself that as far as I was aware, no vehicle had ever blown over the edge.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

When we finally reached the other side, the traffic was held up by all things, a huge gang of Canada geese waddling their way across a busy A road from one flooded field to another.

By this time, the three of us were so on the verge of hysteria we burst out laughing. But trying to do normal things in the face of abnormal weather is no laughing matter.

Only next day did I find out that two men, one in Lancashire, one in the West Midlands, had died during Storm Darragh when uprooted trees fell onto their vehicles.

Both tragedies took place in urban areas; the first man was in his work van, crushed by the toppled tree, the second man was driving along the road when the tree fell through his windscreen.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

For their families and friends, what should be a celebratory time of year will forever be tinged with grief. As I contemplated the hellish trip we’d endured back home up the A1 that Saturday evening, when we saw a huge lorry, its curtain side ripped to pieces by the gusts, and emergency services on the scene, I counted our stars.

This week, I won’t be going much further afield than Doncaster to collect my sister-in-law from the train. But if the wind gets up and rain starts lashing down, I’ll drive as carefully as possible; checking my tyres, my windscreen wipers front and back, my screenwash levels and making sure I have blankets, hats and wellies in the back, just in case.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.

News you can trust since 1754
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice