Met Office issues yellow warnings as UK expects 70mph winds

The Met Office has issued yellow “be aware” warnings for winds of up to 70mph across the north and east of England, North Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

Gusts of 97mph were recorded overnight in Capel Curig in Snowdonia national park, and of 80mph on Emley moor in Yorkshire.

During stormy weather in Hampshire on Monday night a crew member was rescued from a tugboat that capsized.

One crew member of the Asterix, a tugboat attached to the Esso oil refinery at Fawley, managed to jump clear and swim to safety when the vessel capsized.

But an employee at the refinery, who was stood on a nearby pontoon, glimpsed an arm behind one of the boat’s windows and leapt into the water, smashing the window and freeing a trapped crew member, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution said.

All three men received emergency care from paramedics and RNLI crew members before being taken to hospital by ambulance.

Kate Brown, a Met Office forecaster, said on Tuesday: “Today strong winds will ease slightly, but it will remain fairly blustery through the evening and there will be showers moving into the northern and western parts of the UK.”

On the Thames in London, a promotional event for the new Thunderbirds TV show was cancelled.

Road and rail networks faced major disruption, with the Dartford crossing on the M25, the Ouse bridge on the M62 and the M48 Severn bridge all closed.

Trains were running at reduced speed in north-west England with delays of up to an hour in the Warrington Bank Quay/Oxenholme Lake District area and in the Carnforth area.

A tree on the line led to delays between Exeter St Davids in Devon and Taunton in Somerset, while another fallen tree caused holdups between Salisbury in Wiltshire and Romsey in Hampshire.

There were long delays on the M5 southbound near Worcester as a result of an accident.

Looking ahead to the Easter weekend, forecasters said there was some uncertainty about how expected rain would move across the country, but that there was a chance of warmer, sunnier spells from Good Friday onwards.

The second half of the week should be less breezy, but with showers still affecting south-west England, Wales and eastern England.

A frontal system is expected to bring rain to western areas on Thursday, moving to Northern Ireland and then clearing eastwards on Good Friday.

Temperatures could reach around 14C (57.2F) during sunnier spells over the Easter weekend.

Brown said: “There’s a little bit of uncertainty about how this rain is going to move at the minute. We think it will gradually clear during Friday so that means we will actually see improving conditions from Good Friday into the Easter weekend.

“We could see good sunny spells in the Easter weekend itself, the winds will be much lighter, especially compared to what we have seen. Some parts will be getting temperatures of around 14C in the sunshine.”

However, bookmakers are less optimistic.

Ladbrokes have cu the odds for a sprinkle of snow in the UK over the weekend . Snow to fall in any major city in the UK across Easter weekend is offered at 4-1, while Paddy Power is offering odds of 6-1 for it to be the coldest Easter Sunday on record.