Storm Jocelyn will thrash Britain with 80mph winds and heavy rain from this afternoon, just one day after Storm Isha left five people dead in its wake.
A second low pressure system in as many days will bring dangerous conditions from midday today and into tomorrow – particularly for the northern half of the UK.
The Met Office issued amber and yellow wind warnings for all of the country apart from southern England, as well as yellow rain warnings for North West England and Scotland. Gusts of 80mph could hit exposed areas, with up to 2in (50mm) of rain.
The storms have caused major rail chaos – with Avanti West Coast urging passengers not to travel north of Preston after 3.30pm today; ScotRail suspending all services from 7pm tonight; and TransPennine Express warning of major disruption from 3pm.
Met Office chief meteorologist Steve Willington said Storm Jocelyn, named by Irish agency Met Eireann, could cause further disruption hot on the heels of Storm Isha.
An Canal and River Trust worker walks through flood water at Naburn Lock near York today
Cars and lorries are driven through rain on the M4 near Bridgend in South Wales this morning
Met Office yellow and amber rain and wind warnings for today (left) and tomorrow (right)
He said: ‘Although this system will be a step down relative to Storm Isha, with the damage and clean up still underway, we could potentially see more impacts from Storm Jocelyn.
‘Outbreaks of heavy rain on Tuesday could bring rainfall accumulations of 15 to 20mm quite widely with 40 to 50mm over higher ground in South West Scotland, the Scottish Highlands and parts of North West England.
‘Wind gusts are expected to reach 55 to 65mph across northwestern Scotland while there is potential for winds to gust to reach 75 to 80mph in a few places, in particular exposed parts of the Western Isles and coastal northwest Scotland early on Wednesday morning.’
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said today will be another wet day before windspeeds start to pick up towards the evening.
‘Tuesday will be quite a wet day for many people with a rain front bringing the chance of disruption,’ he said.
‘Higher windspeeds will start to develop overnight on Tuesday into Wednesday morning.
‘Windspeeds from Storm Jocelyn will be a slight notch down from Storm Isha, but with the clean up still underway, more disruption is likely.’
Temperatures are expected to remain mild.
Further transport disruption is expected today after services had largely recovered on Monday.
A trampoline blown onto a wall in Kirkby Stephen, Cumbria, yesterday
A Network Rail photo of a tree that fell onto the overhead wires at Whitecraigs in Scotland
Barriers left strewn over the road after Storm Isha brought high winds to Bradford yesterday
Workmen attempt to clear a fallen tree blocking the A833 at Belladrum near Beauly yesterday
Workers clean up crisps from the M6 in Carlisle after high winds caused lorries to overturn
A branch from a tree damaged during Storm Isha lies on top of a car in Belfast yesterday
Avanti West Coast has called on passengers not to travel north of Preston after 3.30pm this afternoon because of Storm Jocelyn.
The last scheduled service from London to Glasgow departs the capital at 3.30pm, calling at Preston at 5.41pm, and is ‘expected to be extremely busy’, the operator warned.
The last trains of the day from Glasgow and Edinburgh will depart before 5pm. Services to and from Scotland are expected to be suspended until at least noon on tomorrow.
Journeys in North West England may be delayed due to speed restrictions.
Passengers with tickets for travel north of Preston today and tomorrow can use them at any time until the end of Thursday.
Those who cannot complete their journey due to the disruption can request a full refund from where they bought their ticket.
Another train operator was ‘strongly urging’ passengers to avoid travelling between England and Scotland from 3pm today until noon tomorrow because of Storm Jocelyn.
TransPennine Express (TPE) said: ‘High winds and heavy rainfall are set to cause major disruption to services in and out of Scotland.’
The affected routes are between Glasgow and Preston, and between Edinburgh and both Newcastle and Preston.
Services across the rest of the operator’s network are also expected to be affected by the severe weather.
TPE customer experience and operations director Kathryn O’Brien said: ‘Our number one priority is to keep our customers and colleagues safe, and we will be doing all we can to keep people moving in difficult conditions.
‘We are urging anyone travelling across the affected routes to plan ahead, allow extra time, check their journey up until the last minute and follow the guidance provided.’
ScotRail services across Scotland will be suspended from 7pm and there will be no rush-hour services tomorrow, the railway operator has said.
Martin Thomson, national operations manager for resilience at Transport Scotland, said: ‘Across the wider network, we can expect to see more delays and cancellations with ferries, flights and rail from Tuesday into Wednesday morning.’
The Met Office said the highest recorded windspeed during Storm Isha was 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland, with gusts of 90mph at Capel Curig in Snowdonia on Sunday.
The Energy Networks Association said 24,000 households were without power in some parts of Britain yesterday evening, mainly in the North of England and in Scotland. In Northern Ireland, 15,000 customers were without power.
A number of people were rescued by firefighters from flooded roads in the Yorkshire Dales.
A Network Rail spokesman said ‘hundreds of engineers’ were deployed with chainsaws and cherry pickers to remove debris from tracks.