UK weather: Storm Kathleen chaos today with ferries cancelled

•  Storm Kathleen is expected to cause travel disruption and power cuts today

Storm Kathleen is expected to cause travel chaos today with disruption to ferries – after dozens of flights were cancelled as 73mph gales blasted through Britain.

A danger to life yellow warning is in place today as the eleventh storm of the season continues to barrel through the UK, with wind gusts of up to 70mph expected. 

All ferries to and from Liverpool, Heysham and Douglas on the Isle of Man have been cancelled until at least 3pm, and ferries to the Isle of Wight face heavy disruption.

Currently, eleven of the 30 ferry journeys to and from the Isle of Wight have disruption warnings in place between 10.30 and 5pm – dashing the hopes of many who may have hoped to participate in today’s City Marathon in Southampton.

The Environment Agency has issued 127 flood alerts and 20 flood warnings across England and Wales this morning. 

The Met Office has warned of potential damage to buildings, power cuts, poor mobile phone coverage and danger to life because of large waves and debris from beaches being thrown on to seafronts.

About 140 UK flights were cancelled yesterday due to the high winds, leaving travellers stranded at Edinburgh, Manchester and Birmingham. 

Despite the stormy weather, Saturday provisionally became the hottest day of the year so far, with 20.9C recorded, according to The Met Office.

Scotland will continue to face the threat of power cuts and travel disruption as high winds and heavy rain from Storm Kathleen persist into Sunday.

The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) has 18 regional flood alerts and 43 flood warnings in place in Scotland. They have been in force since Saturday.

The Met Office has also issued a new yellow wind warning to come in force at 9am on Sunday, affecting parts of the east and northern Highlands, the Isle of Skye and the Hebrides. It will remain in force until 3pm.

Winds as high as 73mph were recorded in Drumalbin, South Lanarkshire.

A previous warning stretched from the Scottish Borders to just south of Stirling.

It spanned the west coast, throughout much of central Scotland, and ended just short of the east coast.

Vincent Fitzsimons, Sepa’s flood duty manager, said: ‘Across the weekend, Scotland is braced for impacts from Storm Kathleen including very high winds and coastal flooding in western areas.

‘Flooding impacts are expected across western coastal areas throughout the weekend.

‘Impacts start in the Solway coast and Firth of Clyde on Saturday and then move around the coast to the eastern side of the country over the next few days.

‘Of particular concern is the likely impact to communities in the Western Isles and Orkney late Saturday and across Sunday.

‘On top of already high tides, Kathleen will bring a storm surge and large waves. This combination is particularly dangerous, especially around high tides.

‘There is real danger to life from wave overtopping, particularly around causeways, coastal roads and paths.

‘Disruption to travel and infrastructure is possible, as is isolated flooding to coastal properties and communities.

‘While the risk is greatest around high tide times, our message is clear: take extra care if you are near the coast at any point and stay well clear of waves and water.

‘Be careful when travelling around exposed coastal areas and don’t walk or drive through flood water as there may be hidden hazards.’

Scotland’s ferry operator CalMac announced a number of cancellations because of the weather, with warnings that other services may be cancelled at short notice.

Scotrail previously warned that some of its services were disrupted between 12pm and 7pm.

On Saturday, more than 140 flights throughout the UK were cancelled as a result of the storm and in Ireland, around 34,000 people were left without electricity earlier on Saturday, with the number later decreasing to around 12,000.