Janice R. Andrews
In the UK, the much-anticipated bank holiday weekend will be ruined by bad weather as Storm Lilian brings heavy rain and strong winds to the whole country. Up to 70 mm of rain is expected on Saturday in the southeast of England, according to the Met Office’s yellow weather warning. This could make it very hard for people planning vacations and outdoor activities.
There is a yellow weather warning in effect.
On Saturday from 6:00 am to 13:00 pm, a yellow weather warning will cover many areas, such as Portsmouth, Hampshire, and parts of Suffolk, such as Ipswich. As the storm gets worse, the Met Office has told people to get ready for possible flight delays and other problems. A spokesman for the Met Office, Liam Eslick, warned that the bad weather could make it harder for many people to start the bank holiday weekend.
According to Eslick, a yellow warning means that traffic may be a little shaky. “I know that there are a lot of people out and about today because it’s the start of the holiday season.”
Storm Lilian causes a lot of trouble
Friday was the first day that Storm Lilian was felt. It caused traffic chaos in many parts of the UK. Heavy rain and strong winds have made the storm dangerous. Stages at big events had to be shut down, and tens of thousands of people lost power. This storm is getting worse, so Saturday will have even stronger winds and rain, especially in central and south-east England and western Scotland.
The hardest rain should stop by mid-afternoon on Saturday, but some places will likely still have showers here and there, making it rainy and windy for longer.
Problems at Festivals: Leeds and Creamfields Are Affected
Big outdoor events have also been canceled because of the bad weather that Storm Lilian brought. On Friday, festivalgoers at Leeds Festival had a lot of problems because three stages had to be closed because of strong winds. The BBC Radio 1, Chevron, and Aux stages were closed. The Chevron stage will likely return at noon on Saturday. On the other hand, the Radio 1 and Aux stages will be closed all weekend.
People who were there were told to stay in their tents or cars until it was safe to move around again. Some festivalgoers said they saw tents being pulled into the air by the strong winds, and many had problems with tents flooding and other weather-related problems.
A college student at the event named Carrie Gill, who is 19 years old, said it was the “worst day ever.” She talked about how bad the weather was at the campsite: “I saw tents floating in the sky, and my own tent got flooded with rain.” I had to get a new one.
Another festivalgoer, Tegan McIvor, talked about how worried she was about the safety of her tent as she and her partner negotiated the rough weather. She said, “I’m pregnant and I hope the wind doesn’t blow the tent away.”
Meanwhile, the storm made it take longer for people to get into the Creamfields music festival in Cheshire, which made festivalgoers even more frustrated as they were eager to start their weekend parties.
Power Outages and Public Transportation Chaos
Storm Lilian’s effects have been felt beyond the fair grounds. Downed power lines have caused power failures in many places. The northern part of England, including Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, gets its energy from Northern Powergrid. On Friday afternoon, 36,000 of its users were without power. Electricity North West also reported large outages. Engineers are now working to restore power to about 3,000 homes after having already done so for almost 15,000 homes.
The storm has also had a big impact on transportation systems all over the UK. National Rail said that problems on several lines were caused by trees that had fallen and blocked the tracks. Some services are now back to normal, but tourists are still having a hard time with delays and cancellations. Metrolink tram services were stopped on some lines in Greater Manchester, which made getting around even more difficult.
Even air travel was affected. On Friday morning, 14 British Airways flights that were supposed to leave from Heathrow were canceled because of the strong winds. Other flights were also delayed. Traffic was briefly stopped on the M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire. Drivers were also told to expect delays on major roads like the M6 highway, the A66, and the A1.
What the weather will be like for the rest of the Bank Holiday weekend
While the weather is supposed to get better over the course of the weekend, it is likely to stay unsettled in some areas. The rain will stop in the east, northern England, and southern Scotland by Sunday, but the winds will pick up, making most of the UK very windy.
There is, however, a bright side for people who want to keep their bank holiday plans. For Monday, Liam Eslick of the Met Office says the weather will be better, with more sunshine and calmer winds. Eslick said, “Monday looks like the best day.” “The weather will be better with more sunshine, and the winds should calm down.” When the bank holiday comes around on Monday, everything will be a lot easier. It will also be nice to have an extra day off this weekend.
Why Storm Lilian Is So Strange
Today is the 12th named storm of the current 12-month cycle. This is a rare occurrence because it is the first time since the Met Office started tracking named storms in 2015 that there have been so many in a single cycle. Usually, these kinds of storms happen in the UK in the fall, but Storm Lilian has given the country a taste of fall weather early.
Lilian is a deep area of low pressure that grew very quickly on Thursday night. It was caused by a strong jet stream high in the sky. Not only did this jet stream bring Storm Lilian to the UK, it also brought the remains of Hurricane Ernesto, which added to the recent spell of windy and rainy weather.
The UK is getting ready for more rough weather, so people are being asked to stay informed and take the right safety measures to stay safe this bank holiday weekend.
