Weather warnings remain in force after Storm Brendan batters UK

The high winds forced airlines to divert flights scheduled to land at Gatwick Airport, while also causing disruption to ferries and railways.

A second low-pressure front brought further high winds to much of England and Wales on Tuesday, with the Environment Agency warning strong winds, high tides and large waves could lead to flooding.

The strongest gust recorded during Storm Brendan was 87mph in South Uist in the Western Isles of Scotland on Monday, with winds of more than 70mph also recorded in Wales and the Isle Of Scilly.

The Met Office issued four weather warnings across the UK, including two for strong winds in north-western Scotland and most of England and Wales which are in place until the end of Tuesday.

A warning for rain in the south-east of England remains in place until 9am on Wednesday, while one for snow and ice across central Scotland and the highlands was lifted by Tuesday afternoon.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said on Tuesday that northern and western Scotland would continue to be hit with high winds of 60mph to 70mph from Storm Brendan but a new low-pressure front would cause blustery conditions for England and Wales.

Mr Claydon said the high winds and rain could lead to “unpleasant” travelling conditions and cause disruption to roads, trains and ferries.

He added: “We are looking at gusts of 40mph to 50mph with exposed coasts and the tops of hills seeing 60mph and maybe even up to 70mph.

“With that, there’s also going to be some rain, making conditions quite unpleasant.

“It’s certainly going to be unpleasant driving conditions and could lead to disruption across many travel networks.”

Seven flights to Gatwick Airport were diverted to other locations across the UK overnight after gales in excess of 40mph struck the area on Monday.

Gatwick said two Wizz Air flights, four easyJet services and one Norwegian Air flight were diverted while one easyJet flight from Edinburgh was forced to land at Birmingham.

In the Western Isles, all schools in Uist and Barra are closed and all bus services on the islands have also been cancelled.

Several Caledonian MacBrayne ferry services are affected, with some services cancelled due to adverse weather and others disrupted.

Northlink Ferries also told passengers there may be disruption on services to Orkney and Shetland.

Gales of up to 80mph affected railways across the country on Tuesday, with passengers facing delays and temporary speed limits due to the heavy winds and fallen trees, while drivers were advised to take extra care on the roads.

Trees falling on the lines caused travel disruption between Farnborough Main and Basingstoke and between Merthyr Vale and Merthyr Tydfil, according to National Rail Enquiries.

Great Northern said a temporary speed restriction of 50mph will be in place between 4pm and 10pm between Cambridge North and Kings Lynn.

Cross Country said that due to the high winds, services were suspended between Southampton Central and Bournemouth.

After plaguing parts of Ireland, causing thousands of homes and businesses to lose power, the storm brought high winds to parts of England and Scotland.

The Environment Agency (EA) had issued 15 flood warnings and 122 alerts on Tuesday afternoon and said the strong winds, high tides and large waves could lead to flooding.

Footage from social media showed large waves and heavy rain, with one Twitter user posting a video showing waves crashing against the barriers and into the road in Southend.

EA flood duty manager Sarah Cook said: “Strong winds and high tides could lead to large waves and localised flooding along parts of the south coast of England over the coming days.

“We are advising people to sign up for flood warnings and to take extra care when walking along the coast – large waves can be dangerous.”