Summary

  • The Met Office warns Storm Darragh poses an imminent risk to life across parts of the South West

  • A red warning has been lifted but an amber wind warning remains in place until 21:00 GMT, with gusts of 70 to 80mph expected

  • A yellow wind warning is then in force until 06:00 on Sunday

  • More than 36,000 homes in Devon and Cornwall are without power

  • Fallen trees block roads across both counties and rail and air services have been disrupted

  1. South West hit by strong windspublished at 20:01 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Thank you for following our live coverage on the high winds caused by Storm Darragh in the South West.

    The live page is closing now but you can keep up-to-date with the latest on our Cornwall and Devon news indexes and on BBC Radio Cornwall and BBC Radio Devon.

  2. In pictures: Dramatic scenes across the South Westpublished at 19:57 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Here is a selection of your images from across Devon and Cornwall sent in by BBC Weather Watchers.

    An enormous wave crashed over the headland in Sennen Cove.Image source, BBC Weather Watchers/Holly
    Image caption,

    Sennen Cove is seeing huge waves crash over the headland

    A large fir tree lies across a wall and roadImage source, BBC Weather Watchers/Rustybreaks
    Image caption,

    Strong winds brought a large fir tree down in Exeter

    A palm tree on the seafront at ExmouthImage source, BBC Weather Watchers/SpinnerGirl
    Image caption,

    Blustery winds are hitting the seafront in Exmouth

  3. More than 36,000 homes without powerpublished at 19:48 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Lisa Young
    BBC News Online

    National Grid has confirmed there are 36,000 homes without power across the South West.

    Matt Turner told the BBC there were 25,000 households in Devon with no electricity and 11,000 in Cornwall.

    He said: "We are working at pace and through the night to get the lights on as swiftly and safely as possible."

    Mr Turner thanked those residents without power for their patience and for being understanding.

    Anyone who loses their electricity should report it to National Grid by calling 105, he added.

  4. Highways teams and fire crews in Cornwall report hundreds of incidentspublished at 19:39 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Lisa Young
    BBC News Online

    A councillor says Cornwall's Highways teams and the fire and rescue service have had hundreds of incidents to deal with because of Storm Darragh.

    Councillor Martyn Alvey said he thought the large amount of damage was down to the wind direction.

    "The wind is in a different direction to what we're used to," he told BBC Radio Cornwall.

    "Everything seems to be bolted down and resilient to south-westerly gales but when it comes from a different direction, all of a sudden different stresses are put on different things."

  5. Trees down across Plymouthpublished at 19:29 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Ferndale Road in the Camels Head area of Plymouth is blocked by a fallen tree, the city council's highways team says.

    The team also says it has cleared and reopened Crownhill Road after a tree came down there earlier.

    It says trees are also down on Hooe Road, Haye Road, Colton Close, Normandy Close, Stoggy Lane and William Prance Road.

    "Our teams are attending as soon as possible," it says.

    A fallen tree blocking a roadImage source, Plymouth City Council
    Image caption,

    A tree is blocking Ferndale Road in Plymouth

  6. 'Devon has been particularly hard hit'published at 19:16 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Lisa Young
    BBC News Online

    Councillor Andrea Davis said Storm Darragh "seems to have hit every part" of Devon, with the worst hit area being north Devon.

    The Deputy Leader of Devon County Council spoke to BBC Radio Devon from her home on Exmoor where she has been without power for most of the day.

    She said: "At one point my area was completely cut off. We couldn't get to Somerset, Barnstaple or to the Link Road."

    Davis said all the council's teams were on standby to help with the clear-up if they were not already working - including 25 teams of tree fellers.

    "I strongly advise nobody to go out unless they absolutely have to - wait until daylight," she added.

  7. Hundreds of trees cleared across Devonpublished at 19:06 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Following sustained high winds our operatives have been clearing hundreds of trees across the county, Devon County Council's highways team says on X.

    It added some work needed to wait until conditions were safer.

  8. House fires contribute to 'significant demand' on emergency servicespublished at 18:56 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Lisa Young
    BBC News Online

    Cornwall Council says the county's fire service and other agencies are "under significant demand" responding to Storm Darragh.

    It said there have been more than 100 incidents reported since 07:00 GMT - some of which involved houses on fire from arcing power cables.

    The council asked residents to only call 999 if someone is in immediate danger.

    It also reminded the public to consider using NHS 111 and Minor Injury Units so that the 999 services and Accident and Emergency departments could be freed up to focus on life-threatening conditions.

  9. Fallen tree blocks A380 sliproadpublished at 18:43 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Devon County Council's highways team says the sliproad on the A380 northbound at Ideford is completely blocked by a fallen tree.

    They are asking people to use alternative routes.

  10. Traffic restrictions in Truropublished at 18:30 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Lisa Young
    BBC News Online

    Cornwall Council says road restrictions on the A390 leading into Truro are likely to stay in place until Monday.

    Both lanes of Tregolls Road coming into the city and one of the lanes leading out are closed due to solar panels being blown off the roof of the PKF Francis Clark office building.

    The council said it expected closures between the Chellow Road junction and Trafalgar Roundabout to remain until Monday when it would be safe to carry out repairs.

    It said a diversion was in place but motorists may want to consider alternative routes.

    The council also advised drivers of large vehicles needing to enter Truro to stay on the A30 and use the A390 at Chiverton Cross.

    The A390 at the PKF Francis Clark building in Truro is empty except for a police car. There is police incident tape flapping between barriers in the foreground.
  11. Winds strong but will start to ease overnightpublished at 18:19 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    David Braine
    BBC South West senior broadcast meteorologist

    Storm Darragh is still around - the winds are quite strong and they will continue to be strong right through the end of the day on Sunday.

    It is still very blustery, with potential gusts of wind between 50-70 mph (80-112km/h).

    Those winds are expected to drop overnight and they will continue to ease throughout Sunday.

    It will feel pretty raw on Sunday morning with a high wind chill factor.

  12. Landslip and fallen trees block roadpublished at 18:09 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Devon County Council's highways team has reported the lane between Welcombe and Southole is blocked at Watergap Farm.

    The team says there has been a landslip and a number of trees have fallen.

    They advise motorists to find an alternative route and drive with care.

  13. Listen to local radio for latest on stormpublished at 17:54 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Mobile home van crushed by tree in road with houses behind.Image source, BBC/Andy Birkett

    Matt Woodley will be presenting a special evening radio show at 18:00 GMT as Cornwall and Devon continue to be battered by Storm Darragh.

    In the show on BBC Radio Devon and BBC Radio Cornwall, Matt will bring you the latest on the road closures and power cuts and check in with people across the county to get the latest updates.

    Stay safe inside and listen to Matt Woodley from 18:00.

  14. About 38,000 properties without powerpublished at 17:43 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    More than 27,000 properties in Devon are still without power, with a further 11,000 properties affected in Cornwall.

    Matt Turner, from National Grid, says the wind has brought down high voltage overhead lines which are difficult to repair.

    He advises customers to keep a battery pack handy to ensure mobile phones remained charged during a power cut.

  15. Warning over danger of falling treespublished at 17:30 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Lisa Young
    BBC News Online

    A tree surgeon near Tiverton has warned drivers to be mindful of vulnerable trees in the high winds brought by Storm Darragh.

    Fred Barclay said he "helped out" by cutting up fallen trees in the area on Saturday.

    "We had one tree that nearly came down and a fairly sizeable rock nearly hit a car," he said.

    "If you are out, be really careful and mindful of trees that are up on banks."

    A large tree covered in ivy has fallen and lies across a road. There is sawdust on the road from branches breaking.
  16. Tree blocks road in Plymouthpublished at 17:15 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    A fallen tree is blocking Mount Gould Road in Plymouth, the city council's highways team posted on X, external.

    A tree is seen blocking a road behind police tape.Image source, Plymouth City Council
  17. Travel disrupted on Cornwall roadspublished at 17:02 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    A number of incidents are ongoing on Cornwall's roads this afternoon:

    • In Truro the A390 Tregolls Road is closed from Waitrose to Trafalgar Roundaboutafter solar panels were blown off a roof
    • The A39 between Truro and Falmouth is closed in both directions due to a fallen power line
    • A tree is down between Launceston and Okehampton
    • Power lines are down in Perranporth with the road shut at Liskey Hill
    • A tree is down in Roach at Trekenning Roundabout
    • A lamppost is down on St Johns Road in Newquay
    • In Par a tree is blocking Eastcliffe Road
    • A tree is down on the A38 near Bodmin railway station

  18. In pictures: Rolling waves and dark skiespublished at 16:49 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Here are more of the images we've received showing the impact of Storm Darragh in Devon and Cornwall.

    Waves and sea spray tumble in to a harbour wall. The spray has created a mist in the air.Image source, BBC Weather Watchers / Jojo of Portreath
    Image caption,

    Waves crash into the harbour wall at Portreath

    A boat yard with several boats out in a dry dock that is surrounded by water and a hill. A wave is crashing into the dock.Image source, BBC Weather Watchers / sundown of Ilfracombe
    Image caption,

    Ilfracombe marina is battered by a wave

    Dark cloudy skies over a beachside town. There is a church belltower in the foreground.Image source, BBC Weather Watchers / Beach Seeker of St Ives
    Image caption,

    Dark clouds loom over St Ives

  19. Number of homes without power still risingpublished at 16:34 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    The number of homes in Devon and Cornwall without power continues to climb, with more than 37,000 properties now affected, National Grid says.

    It says about 27,000 properties are without power in Devon and a further 10,000 properties affected in Cornwall.

  20. Council reports 19 roads blocked by fallen trees in hourpublished at 16:20 Greenwich Mean Time 7 December

    Lisa Young
    BBC News Online

    Devon County Council's Highways team has had reports of 19 roads blocked by fallen trees in the county in the past hour.

    The team said there are trees blocking:

    • a road between the A380 and A38 at Exeter Racecourse
    • Across the entrance to the Honiton Road Park and Ride in Exeter
    • Near the police station in Okehampton
    • A386 between Great and Little Torrington
    • Southella Road and Yelland Road in Yelverton

    They advise people to drive with caution and use alternative routes.

    A large tree has fallen on to a road.