Drivers are urged to only travel if necessary as Storm Agnes is on her way to batter Cumbria.
People are asked to check the weather and route before travelling and allow extra time for the journey.
Wind gusts could be as high as 60mph to 75 mph today and Cumberland Council has issued advice to help keep people safe.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for today, and Thursday.
Westmorland and Furness Council
A statement from Westmorland and Furness said: “The area is expected to be most severely affected from mid-afternoon on Wednesday until 7am on Thursday.
“Impacts could include trees brought down, damage to overhead rail wires and the possibility of power outages resulting from damage to transmission infrastructure.
“In addition there is a chance of structural damage to any unsecured structures, a risk of airborne debris from the strongest gusts and road, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible.
“The highways team at Westmorland and Furness Council receive weather alerts from our forecasting providers and the team ensure that, where necessary, there is an increase in resources out on the network for the period of the weather event.
“This includes the ability to clear and remove dangerous trees that have fallen or affect the road network. We have teams who work throughout the night to ensure that the roads are safe in the morning, however the teams can only react to calls from the police and the public, when they are reported.
“Storms can also highlight any issues with blocked drains on the road network.
“There are 74,000 drains in Westmorland and Furness, some of which will become blocked, especially in the autumn due to falling leaves and other debris washed into them in periods of heavy rain.
“The council has a proactive programme of clearing drains, but also relies on residents to let us know when a drain becomes blocked by reporting the problem so that we can prioritise its clearance.
“We encourage the public to drive carefully on the road network during any severe weather incidents and to report any road hazards, during or following the storm.
“The best and most convenient way to report a highways issue is online here“
Advice from Cumberland Council
- Secure garden furniture/trampolines – anything that could cause damage
- Park vehicles in a garage if available; otherwise keep them clear of buildings, trees, walls and fences
- Please stay away from the fells (and high/coastal roads) to keep you and the mountain rescue volunteers safe.
- Please also refrain from water sports activities as well.
- Check your torch batteries, radio, non-cooking food, chargers, etc
- If it is safe to do so, please check on neighbours and older relatives too to make sure they’re OK.
- Do not touch any telephone or electrical cables that may have blown down
- If you see a problem on the road, please report it to: https://bit.ly/CumberlandHighwaysEnquiry
Flood alerts and warnings
A flood alert is in place for Upper River Derwent, Stonethwaite Beck and Derwentwater.
The Environment Agency is warning people to be prepared as flooding is possible.
It said: “Further rain is expected later today, which will keep the levels high, but we are not expecting to see any significant changes.
“Areas most at risk include The Upper Derwent from Seathwaite to Derwentwater.
“We will continue to monitor levels closely.
“Avoid using low lying footpaths and any bridges near local watercourses and do not attempt to walk or drive through flood water.”
If you are by the coast
If you are by the coast, the RNLI said: “Stay back from stormy seas and cliff edges, check the weather forecast and tide times and take a phone with you.
“If you see someone in danger in the water, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.”
⚠️ #StormAgnes will bring strong winds and heavy rain to much of the UK this afternoon
— Met Office (@metoffice) September 27, 2023
⛅ Remaining drier across the southeast with some sunny spells and lighter winds pic.twitter.com/V5iYn9CNOc
Power
Power firm Electricity North West said it would be closely monitoring the network over the coming days as Britain prepares for the arrival of Storm Agnes.
It said its engineers were on standby to ensure supplies and teams were available to respond if the weather causes any issues with local power supplies.
Electricity North West customer director, Stephanie Trubshaw, said: “While Agnes will be the first officially named storm of the season, we work all year to make our network as resilient as it can be.
“We cut trees back from our overhead lines year-round, invest in flood defences for our major electricity substations, and invest in the latest technology to manage the network safely too. We always have engineers on standby and when bad weather is forecast we ramp this up where needed across our patch to ensure a quick response.
“We’ll have local teams available to respond quickly on the ground across the North West and our customer team will be available for support if you need us.
“If laid end-to-end, our network of 57,000km of overhead lines and underground cables would wrap around the world one and half times. High winds can blow debris into overhead lines and localised flooding can sometimes affect the underground network too, so we’re doing everything we can to be prepared.
“If anybody sees any damage to electricity equipment over the next few days then I urge them to stay away and report it to us immediately by calling 105.”
🌤️ A calm start to Wednesday morning with any mist and low cloud soon lifting giving bright or sunny skies for many
— Met Office (@metoffice) September 26, 2023
🌬️ Winds quickly strengthening in the west as #StormAgnes approaches bringing bands of rain, turning heaviest and most persistent across Northern Ireland pic.twitter.com/0MpNUdcBNe
The Met Office said Storm Agnes will move into western areas of the UK and Ireland today, with the strongest winds most likely on Irish Sea coasts, though it will be a widely windy day across the UK.
Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said: “Storm Agnes will approach southwest Ireland early today and track northeast across Northern Ireland and Scotland before clearing on Thursday morning. Gusts of 45mph to 55mph are expected widely inland and 50mph to 60mph over hills and around coasts.
“The strongest winds are expected to affect Northern Ireland, southwest Scotland, west and north west Wales, Cumbria and Lancashire where some places inland may see gusts of 60mph and 65mph to 75mph over hills and around coasts. These are most likely during the second half of this afternoon and through the evening.”
The wind warning from noon today until 7pm on Thursday – highlights the chance of some damage to building from strong winds, as well as the possibility of power cuts for some. Transport disruption is also likely, with some roads and bridges likely to close.
Steve Basterfield, national network manager at National Highways, said: “With the stormy weather being forecast, it is important to plan ahead for your journey, and if weather conditions become challenging, adjust your driving behaviour and take extra care.”
What to expect
- Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible
- Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen
- Some power cuts are likely to occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage
- Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible. Some roads and bridges are likely to close
- There is a small chance of injuries and danger to life that could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties, with a chance of some minor flooding of coastal roads
