U.K. Prepares as Worst Storm in Five Years Approaches

By Andrea Gerlin & Jesse Riseborough - Oct 27, 2013 6:22 PM GMT-0430

Britain is braced for hurricane-force winds and flooding caused by torrential rain as the worst storm in five years began its approach from the Atlantic across southwest England.
The country’s Met Office has issued an amber alert and warned of wind gusts in some places exceeding 80 mph (129 kilometers an hour) late today and early tomorrow. The Environment Agency posted dozens of flood alerts across western areas as the storm threatens to cause chaos for millions of commuters at the start of the work week. In France, Belgium and the Netherlands, weather services also warned of high winds, especially along Channel coasts.

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Large waves break against barriers on the seafront in Brighton, southern England, on October 27, 2013 as a predicted storm starts to build. Photographer: Leon Neal/AFP via Getty Images

“This weather system is typical of what we expect to see in winter, but as it’s coming in during autumn -- when trees are in leaf -- and while the ground is fairly saturated, it does pose some risks,” Martin Young, the Met Office’s chief forecaster, said on the agency’s website. “We could see some uprooted trees or other damage from the winds, and there’s a chance of some surface-water flooding from the rainfall.
U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron said on Twitter that he held talks with government departments and agencies today ‘‘to hear about all the plans to ensure people are protected.’’

Heathrow Airport

Air, road and rail travel are expected to be affected, with London’s Heathrow Airport, Europe’s biggest aviation hub, imposing a 20 percent reduction on flights before 11 a.m. tomorrow. Gatwick, Stansted and Luton airports advised passengers to check with their airlines on the status of flights.
‘‘Passengers due to travel on Monday should check the status of their flight with their airline before traveling to the airport,” Heathrow said in an e-mailed statement today.
British Airways, which uses Heathrow as a base, said in a statement it was canceling services on its European and domestic networks, but long-haul flights into and out of Heathrow were planned to operate as normal. The airline, part of International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (IAG), said any changes to schedules will be on the website.
High winds expected at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport will reduce runway capacity and affect flight schedules, Air France-KLM Group (AF)’s Dutch KLM unit said late today on its website.

Trees, Debris

The U.K.’s Network Rail said there would be no commuter trains into London before 9 a.m. from the south because of the risk of fallen power lines or trees and debris on the track from the expected hurricane force winds.
Most trains are not being allowed to run until the worst of the storm has passed and engineers have been able to check railway lines.
“The timing and trajectory of the storm means that services are unlikely to be able to start up until 9 a.m. on many routes in southeast England,” Network Rail said. It said even when routes have been cleared as safe to run trains, many operators will be running a reduced or altered service as speed restrictions remain in place.
Southern Trains and the Gatwick Express airport service from London won’t run tomorrow “until it has been declared safe to do so,” because of the risk of tree branches and debris on rail lines, owner Southern Railway Ltd. said on its website.

‘Reduced Timetable’

Southeastern Trains may need to start services later than usual tomorrow, according to its website, while South West Trains said it will have a “significantly reduced timetable.”
Transport for London said there will be no service on the capital’s overground rail lines until 9 a.m., while Eurostar said it would be unable to run any cross-Channel rail services until 7 a.m. to allow the high-speed train lines to be inspected.
On the roads, the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, which links the counties of Essex and Kent in southeast England, is expected to close overnight owing to high winds, the Highways Agency said.
There is a “strong possibility” the closing will affect the early rush hour, the agency said on its website. It said the Dartford Tunnel would remain open
In the southwest, both crossings across the River Severn are being closed to all traffic.

Weather Alerts

The Met’s amber alert is the middle category of a three-stage weather warning system for the public. The alert covers London, all of southern England, Wales, the West Midlands and parts of the East Midlands, the Met Office said. A less serious yellow alert has been issued for eastern England, the northeast and northwest.
The Met said the storm -- named after St Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, whose feast day falls tomorrow -- would approach from the Atlantic on path across the southwest and southern Wales before moving north-eastwards across southern England.
It is forecast to hit London and the south east around 7 a.m.
The storm will hit western France overnight before spreading to Normandy and Nord-Pas de Calais by morning, with gusts topping 80 mph on the coasts, according to Meteo France, the national weather forecaster.
Weather services in Belgium and the Netherlands forecast high winds continuing into tomorrow morning, with gusts as high as 87 mph in northwest coastal areas of the Netherlands.

Extreme Weather

The U.K’s so-called Big Six energy companies, which supply more than 90 percent of British customers, are also making preparations.
Scottish Power Ltd., owned by Iberdrola SA (IBE) of Spain, canceled all non-essential maintenance work in North Wales and has engineers on standby, a spokesman said today by phone. The company supplies energy to about 5.6 million customers in Britain.
RWE Npower Plc has four-wheel-drive vehicles in place to ensure employees can get to work in extreme weather, as well as beds and emergency rations at its stations so the company can generate power at all times, said Amy Rynn, a spokeswoman at the U.K. unit of German utility RWE AG. (RWE)
SSE Plc (SSE) has tracked the weather for the past few days and started mobilizing staff on Oct. 25 from Scotland, where it is based in Perth, to the south of England, said Morven Smith, a spokeswoman for the company, which has about 10 million customer accounts for gas and power.

Turbines Shutdowns

SSE drafted in extra engineers and tree-cutting staff to central southern England, as well as additional employees in its customer service centers and support personnel, she said today by phone.
The gusts may lead to shutdowns at turbines including those at the London Array, the world’s biggest offshore wind-power site, which automatically halt when wind speeds exceed 56 mph. Structurally, the turbines and offshore sub-stations are designed to withstand conditions “far in excess” of those forecast, Barrie Englishby, a production manager for the project east of London, said Oct. 25.
Ferry services have been canceled today and tomorrow between Plymouth and Roscoff, in France, and between Penzance and the Isles of Scilly.
“We are in the process of contacting all passengers booked on these sailings,” Brittany Ferries, which runs the Plymouth-Roscoff route, said on its website.
P&O Ferries said cross-Channel sailings between Dover and Calais are running 90 minutes late.
To contact the reporters on this story: Andrea Gerlin in London at agerlin@bloomberg.net; Jesse Riseborough in London at jriseborough@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Heather Langan at hlangan@bloomberg.net