The heavy downpours experienced across Britain have accounted for the life of one motorist already, with more gale-force winds and torrential rain forecast to batter the south of the country during the course of the weekend.
The currently un-named driver, thought to be a 53-year-old woman, was taken downstream by flood waters as she attempted to cross a river on the North Yorkshire Moors in the Land Rover. During her attempt the Land Rover flipped over and eventually came to a halt under a bridge. Her body was recovered in Hartoft Beck following a four-hour search by teams of fire-fighters, divers and an RAF helicopter.
According the reports from the Meteorological Office parts of England and Wales could see anywhere up to 4cm of rain during the course of the weekend, along with winds of up to 50mph. The Met Office has also issue a warning that, following the last week of heavy rains and with river levels already running high, the further predicted storms falling on already drenched ground could result in localised flooding.
It is thought that the full moon could result in coastal flooding on high tides, particularly in eastern parts. Flood defences across the UK have been under constant assessment by the Environment Agency, and the agency expects to issue flood warnings over the coming five day period with a warning for members of the public to exercise vigilance.
The EAs head of incident management, Craig Woolhouse, confirmed that the Agency was continuing to closely monitor sea and river levels as a result of the forecasts for more rain. “Our teams have been placed on standby for the coming weekend”, he stated.
Despite the fact that the UK has endured periods of bitter cold, snow, frost and sleet, the recent winter has not been especially stormy. The current storm is somewhat unusual chiefly because it comes primed with tropical air. The storm itself originated some way off the African coast before drenching Madeira.
It was actually the second storm to strike the island, as horrific floods swamped Madeira just last week. It is the clashing of the warm tropical air with the colder northern air as it reached Portugal and France’s Atlantic coast that will give the storm its venom, which could result in winds of up to 100mph, which is the equivalent of a Category 2 hurricane.
This sudden burst is the result of something known as a Jet Sting, which occurs when very cold air situated high above a heavy storm suddenly descends to earth with a sudden acceleration similar to that of an avalanche, eventually crashing to the ground in an extreme gust of wind. It was this phenomenon that was responsible for most of the damage caused during the notorious October 1987 storm that afflicted southern England. The fact that the storm has taken an irregular path is due to the jet stream, which usually results in such high-altitude winds rushing over the UK during the winter, resulting in windy and wet, but mild weather.
The difference with this winter is that the jet stream has run far to the south of the UK, meaning that the Mediterranean coast has been soaked but the UK and northern Europe have been held in an arctic grip. During the coming weekend the jet stream has kinked, and is now running northwards to the UK and Western Europe.
For more information on the storms and what they mean to you be sure to check out TimesOnline.co.uk before hitting the road.
