Storm Isha in Yorkshire live: Traffic and travel updates as Storm Isha brings 70mph winds to Yorkshire
Winds of up to 76mph have been recorded in Yorkshire as Storm Isha has well and truly hit Yorkshire, causing huge delays for travellers.
The A66 has been closed between Scotch Corner and the M6 after high winds blew over lorries on the road, while travellers have also been told to be aware of delays for those on trains and planes.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdNetwork Rail imposed 50mph speed restrictions across most routes to keep passengers and trains safe from falling trees and debris blown onto tracks, with disruption likely to continue into Monday morning.
Storm Isha is the ninth named storm to hit the UK since the season began in September. Each storm is named when it poses a risk to people and they are given names beginning with consecutive letters of the alphabet.
If there are three more named storms between next week and August, this year will mark a new record.
Cold Arctic air pushing south into North America is making the jet stream more active, the Met Office said, and because it flows from west to east, it is bringing stormier weather to the UK.
Storm Isha in Yorkshire
70mph+ winds
Storm Isha has well and truly hit Yorkshire over the weekend and into this Monday morning.
The Met Office has reported that winds as high as 76mph have been recorded in Yorkshire.
Follow the latest traffic and travel updates here.
A66 closed
The A66 has been closed after high winds from Storm Isha blew over ‘several lorries’.
The road is closed in both directions between Scotch Corner and the M6 following the high winds, National Highways said.
The agency, which looks after major roads and motorways in Yorkshire and beyond, said: "There are also several overturned lorries which will require recovery before the road can be reopened. Vehicles travelling across the Pennines are advised to plan ahead and consider alternate routes.”
Met Office
Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “We’re expecting widespread gales to affect the UK, amber warnings are in place for large parts of the country.
“There’s the potential for danger-to-life and damaging winds potentially leading to some power cuts in places, some large waves around coastal regions could bring some debris onto roads and trees could come down.”
He added: “We have a wind warning in place across the whole of the UK, it’s pretty unusual for the whole of the country to be under a blanket wind warning.”
The Met Office said “everybody” has been affected by the storm.
Network Rail has imposed 50mph speed restrictions across most routes to keep passengers and trains safe from falling trees and debris blown onto tracks, with disruption likely to continue into Monday morning.
East Midlands Railway has said delays and alterations to its services were “likely”, while no LNER trains will run north of Newcastle until midday.
Flights
Flights are also set to be affected today.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said: “Due to adverse weather conditions across the UK, temporary air traffic restrictions are in place. Restrictions of this sort are only every applied to maintain safety.
“Our teams are working closely with airports and airlines to minimise disruption. Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline.”
Trains are starting to get back to normal following the high winds overnight.
Network Rail said it expects train services in Scotland to remain suspended until around noon after “a wild night”.
A spokesman said: “The railway has recovered quickly this morning following Storm Isha with trees and debris cleared across routes in England and Wales, and route proving trains reporting lines clear.
“Passenger and freight services have restarted and a good service is expected in most areas. Passengers should still check before they head out for the latest travel news on trains operators’ websites.
“The exception is Scotland where we do not expect to be able to restart services until around midday with dozens of lines shut due to fallen trees and flooding."
What to expect
The yellow weather warning is in place until noon today.
Here's what the Met Office says we should expect:
- Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen
- Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible
- Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage
- Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties
- Some roads and bridges may close
- Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible
Elsewhere
Across the country, thousands of people have been left without power as Storm Isha brought disruption to the electricity and transport networks across the UK. ESB Networks reported more than 170,000 properties in Ireland were without power, while Electricity North West said crews had been stood down due to the conditions, with almost 8,000 homes losing power. Yorkshire doesn't appear to be affected at the moment.
Flood warnings
As well as the winds, there are also flood warnings in place.
The river Ure at Boroughbridge and Masham is expected to flood, and so is the upper catchment of the river Hull, as well as the Hull at Hempholme.
There are also flood alerts in place for the Swale, Calder, Tees, Wharfe, Aire and Nidd.
Humber Bridge closed to high-sided vehicles
The A15 Humber Bridge is closed in both directions to high-sided and vulnerable vehicles due to strong winds.
Traffic wishing to use the northbound A15 should head west on the A180 on to the M180. At the end of this motorway join the M18 north and at the end of that motorway take the M62 eastbound and then on to the A63 eastbound.
For southbound traffic follow the above route in reverse: A63 west, M62 west and exit at J35 on to the M18 south. Exit at J5 and take the M180 eastbound and continue to the A180.
Power cuts in Yorkshire Dales
More than 200 properties are facing unplanned power cuts in the Yorkshire Dales - starting at 8:44 am.
The Northern Power Grid has said: "We are unable to provide an update at this time. This may be related to the current severe weather conditions impacting our network."
Storm Isha causes wild start on the Moors
The Yorkshire Post's deputy business editor Greg Wright heads across the moors in Ilkley to see the impact of Storm Isha in the area.
Flights diverted away from Leeds Bradford airpoty
Storm Isha has caused several flights heading to Leeds Bradford Airport to be diverted and two were cancelled:
Roads closed in North Yorkshire
North Yorkshire Council has announced several roads have been closed due to Storm Isha:
Powercuts in York
More than 400 properties are facing unplanned power cuts in the York area - starting at 9:35 am.
The Northern Power Grid has said: "We are unable to provide an update at this time. This may be related to the current severe weather conditions impacting our network."
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.