‘Worst of Storm Bert yet to arrive’ amid gridlocked roads and cancelled flights

Thousands of homes are without power, roads are flooded and flights have been cancelled – but the worst of Storm Bert is still to come, according to UK power chiefs.

Winds of up to 70mph are set to batter coastal areas and, as temperatures rise on Saturday, melting snow and heavy rain are causing flooding.

The National Grid said around 4,000 homes in its region of the Midlands, south-west England and south Wales, are without power.

Ross Easton, of Energy Networks Association (ENA) – which represents the UK’s power network operators, said: “There are a few localised weather-related power cuts in parts of Britain this morning. However, for most parts of the country the severe weather hasn’t yet had a significant impact.

“Forecasters are describing this as a ‘multi-hazard event’ with the worst of the weather yet to arrive, and so our members have extra engineers and contact centre teams available, and control rooms are monitoring the storm closely as it develops.”

The M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire was closed because of strong winds, and the A66 in County Durham was closed both ways between the A67 and A645 due to snow.

Traffic has been at a standstill on the M80 near Castlecary, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Flights were disrupted at Newcastle Airport as heavy snow hit the North East overnight and into Saturday morning.

Some arrivals were diverted to Belfast and Edinburgh while the airport’s snow team tried to minimise disruption.

Six weather warnings remain in place and Scots are being urged not to travel “unless absolutely necessary” as Storm Bert continues to cause travel disruption across the country.

Forecasters have predicted as much as 40cm of snow on high grounds in Scotland as central areas remain in an amber alert for snow and ice until 5pm today.

Avanti West Coast has cancelled its service between Edinburgh and Carlisle all day on Saturday with the next direct service from Carlisle not scheduled to run until Sunday afternoon.

Further south, heavy showers are hitting England. The Met Office forecasts heavy rain developing overnight and into Sunday for south-west and southern England, stretching from Oxford to Truro.

The yellow warning is in place from 6am Saturday until 11.45pm on Sunday and up to 70mm of rain could fall during this time.

There is a chance that some places over Dartmoor could see 100-150mm of rainfall, the national weather service said.

The Championship football match between Blackburn Rovers at Portsmouth at Ewood Park, Lancashire, was postponed due to torrential rain flooding the pitch.

A wind warning covers coastal areas of southern England and Wales from 9am on Saturday until 9pm on Sunday.

UK Power Networks, the operator for the east and south-east of England, has warned people to stay away from overhead power lines amid the gusts.