Environment Agency and Met Office issue advice as Storm Babet closes in on North East coast

Both the Met Office and Environment Agency have issed advice as Storm Babet continues to work its way towards the UK, bringing heavy rain and wind to the east coast of the country.

Yellow weather warnings for wind and rain were put in place earlier this week by the Met Office and were updated on the morning of Thursday, October 19th to cover Friday, October 20 and Saturday, October 21, although wet conditions are expected beyond those dates with rain starting on Thursday afternoon.

The weather warnings for this weekend have seen advice issued by the Met Office.

Regarding the rain warning, the weather service claims fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible while water may cause damage to some buildings.

Public transport may also be impacted according to the group with delays or cancellations possible while spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions.

Large waves in coastal areas may impact day to day activities due to the heavy winds which are expected over the two days while the Met Office also says delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges are likely due to the gusts.

Read South Tyneside’s news on the go with our free email newsletters - bringing the headlines to your inbox. Catch up on the day’s news and sport and enjoy even more from your Gazette. Visit our website here to find out more and sign up.

The Environment Agency has also had its say on the storm, with Ben Lukey, flood duty manager at the Environment Agency saying:

“Persistent and heavy rain brought by a combination of Storm Babet and following weather systems means significant inland flooding is likely across parts of the North East and Yorkshire from Thursday through to Saturday, while, at the same time, flooding is also possible across other parts of the North, East Anglia and the South East.

“Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground, undertaking preparatory operational activity to minimise the impacts of flooding where possible. We advise people to stay away from swollen rivers and urge people not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.

“People should check their flood risk, sign up for free flood warnings and keep up to date with the latest situation on the Government website and follow @EnvAgency on X, formerly known as Twitter, for the latest flood updates.”