Summary

  • Winds of more than 70mph batter parts of southern England

  • Tens of thousands of homes without power

  • Cancellations and diversions at airports and rail and ferry services disrupted

  • Crane bent backwards by powerful gusts in south London

  • Met Office issued amber warning for high winds in southern England

  1. The impact of Storm Katiepublished at 13:24

    Storm Katie - the 11th named storm of the winter - caused considerable disruption:

    - More than 100 flights were diverted or cancelled at Gatwick, external and Heathrow, external airports - passengers spoke of "terrifying" attempts to land in gale force winds. Some disruption remains at both airports, so passengers should check with their airlines

    - Rail travel was also hit and remains problematic in places. Fallen trees and landslips were the main culprits affecting Great Western Railway, South West Trains, Southeastern, Southern and Thameslink. For more information, go to National Rail Enquiries, external

    - And for those of you heading for home, or elsewhere, on Easter Monday, there remains some trouble on the roads. The QE2 Bridge, external in Kent is shut and many local routes are affected by flooding and debris. Highways England, external and BBC Travel can tell you more

    - Finally, more than 80,000 homes lost power during the storm and thousands are yet to be reconnected

  2. Flood risk remains after storm passespublished at 13:18

    We're going to be rounding off our live coverage shortly as Storm Katie has now passed across the UK and into the North Sea. A yellow, be aware, warning, external from the Met Office remains for southern England. It's due to expire at 15:00 BST.

    There are also still more than 20 flood warnings, external in place - as shown on the map below - so keep across the Environment Agency website if you need more information on those.

    Flood warningsImage source, Environment Agency
  3. Fire service rescued people from storm-hit pubpublished at 13:02

    Duchess Pub in Battersea damaged by stormImage source, PA

    BBC producer Zahid Lalani is at the Duchess Pub in Battersea where people were evacuated after its roof was destroyed by the wind. He says it's a remarkable sight - the roof has been gutted with piles of bricks and debris strewn all Savona Street adjacent to the pub. Police have cordoned off the surrounding area and workers from the local council will attend the scene later to begin the clear-up operation. 

    The pub's general manager Simon Adams said he was relieved those staying there were safe:

    Quote Message

    The fire service were here at five o'clock this morning, but they then actually bashed in the door to get people from inside. We're very pleased that no-one has been injured [inside] and also on the street. I think the time in the morning - there was nobody around. So very, very good it was at that time and not later on."

  4. Trees down on power linespublished at 12:51

    This is the sort of sight greeting engineers as they attempt to restore power to some of the thousands of homes cut off by Storm Katie. For more information on outages, check out UK Power Networks, external or Western Power Distribution, external, who cover the areas affected by bad weather.

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  5. Delays around Gatwick north terminalpublished at 12:51 British Summer Time 28 March 2016

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  6. I told the pilot 'well done' - Gatwick passengerpublished at 14:47

    Another passenger, Arnon Woolfson, has been speaking about his "hairy" landing at Gatwick this morning. He spoke to the Press Association after arriving home from Tel Aviv with his family.

    Quote Message

    The plane was descending and at the very last minute as we came down, it pulled up. It was clearly not going to plan. The plane was not just going up and down, it was going sideways. There were a lot of crosswinds - it was a mess. There was zero visibility and really, really heavy wind and rain. Afterwards I went up and told the pilot 'well done' because it was a tough one. It was pretty hairy - I have been in a couple of aborted landings before and fly a couple of times a week, but it was pretty hairy."

  7. 'No injuries' after Woodley roof collapsepublished at 12:44

    A number of shops have been forced to close in Woodley High Street, Berkshire, after scaffolding on the roof opposite a Waitrose supermarket collapsed. South Central Ambulance Service says no injuries were reported.

    Roof collapsed in Woodley, ReadingImage source, Nino Auricchio
    Roof collapsed in Woodley, ReadingImage source, Nino Auricchio
  8. Weather affects over 100 flightspublished at 12:36

    A Gatwick airport spokeswoman said 26 flights had been cancelled and 23 diverted, while Heathrow cancelled 61 flights and another 20 were diverted due to "adverse weather".     

    Giulia Cortigiano, 28, an office manager, said her flight from Bangkok only touched down at Gatwick on the second attempt after being hit by strong winds. 

    Quote Message

    People were panicking, somebody was sick... The wind was really strong, I could feel it in the plane even after we landed."

  9. Gatwick landing 'absolutely terrifying'published at 12:27

    Travellers have told how they were left "terrified" and fearing for their safety as planes, hit by powerful winds, aborted landings at the last minute.  

    Dan Prance branded his trip back from Budapest the "worst flight of my life" and said passengers were so relieved when they finally touched down that many burst into tears. 

    Quote Message

    When we approached into Gatwick the plane was dropping suddenly and swinging left to right. You could see from the windows there was a massive storm happening outside. We got closer to the ground at Gatwick until the captain suddenly aborted the landing and we went shooting back up into the sky to attempt again. The captain came on the PA system and explained that the winds were way too strong for this kind of plane to land and he had to abort the landing at the last moment for safety. It was absolutely terrifying."

  10. Recap: What happened during Storm Katiepublished at 12:19

    Storm Katie cut a swathe across southern England, leaving flights cancelled, property damaged and thousands of people without power. But the Met Office's, external amber weather warning for high winds in London and the south east has now been lifted.

    To sum up Katie's impact:

    - Planes bound for Gatwick and Heathrow were diverted to other airports and dozens were cancelled as gusts of up to 105mph hit the south of England

    - Passengers spoke of "scary" attempts to land at Gatwick in high winds

    - More than 80,000 homes have suffered power cuts, with thousands in southern counties still awaiting reconnection 

    - The Environment Agency has issued 28 flood warnings, external following the heavy rain as river levels rose rapidly

    - The Port of Dover has reopened after ships were temporarily prevented from sailing due to the severe weather

    Some trains are still delayed, external due to obstructions on the line, Network Rail says. Some services travelling towards Gatwick airport are being diverted and delayed by up to 30 minutes. This is expected to continue until 15:00

    - Collapsed scaffolding, fallen trees and a bent crane are among the problems caused by Katie - the 11th named storm of the winter

  11. Roof torn off in Portseapublished at 12:07

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  12. Calm after the stormpublished at 12:02

    Storm Katie is now in the southern North Sea. Gusts of over 60mph have been reported from rigs and ships in area.

    But on the mainland things are looking much improved for the afternoon. There will be a scattering of showers heaviest in south west England.   

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  13. Body found after car enters riverpublished at 11:58

    A man's body has been found after a car entered the River Don, off the A1 in Doncaster.

    South Yorkshire Police said the man's family have been informed.

    Emergency services attended the incident, just off the northbound carriageway, between junctions 36 to 37, at around 06:30 BST.

    The northbound carriageway is expected to be closed until later this afternoon and drivers are being told to avoid the area.

  14. What Katie did...published at 11:52

    Satellite image of Storm KatieImage source, Met Office

    According to the Met Office,, external Storm Katie - the 11th named storm since last autumn - first made landfall in Cornwall and then exited into the North Sea from the Lincolnshire coast during the latter part of the morning.  

    Forecaster Mark Wilson said: "The maximum gust speed recorded was 106mph at 05:00 on the Needles on the Isle of Wight. The Needles is a very exposed site and regularly records the strongest UK gust speeds. The speed of 74mph recorded at 07:00 at St Catherine’s Point on the island is more typical of values recorded elsewhere across southern England.

    “Given the southerly wind direction, it’s no surprise that most of the highest wind gust speeds were recorded in southern England. In fact, most of the 30 UK stations recording the highest wind gust speeds are south of the M4 corridor.”

  15. 'We paid £500 for a taxi back to Gatwick'published at 11:44

    Many passengers due to fly into Gatwick have been diverted to other airports after strong winds prevented planes from landing.

    Paula Cole, from Cambridgeshire, was on a flight from Larnaca, Cyprus, that was diverted to Liverpool John Lennon airport, but was disappointed with the arrangements once she landed.

    Quote Message

    We landed in Liverpool at 02:30. There was no-one at the airport to help. I then switched on my phone and got a text from the airline saying 'Due to it being the Bank Holiday weekend we are unable to source transportation or accommodation' and to 'make our own arrangements' and claim it back. We were forced to pay £500 for a taxi back to Gatwick. We’ve just left Gatwick now in our own car, after a journey of 28 hours so far, tired and disgusted. We were lucky because we had the money, but there were others there who didn’t who were stranded.”

  16. Portsmouth Cathedral covers shreddedpublished at 11:38

    Scaffolding cover ripped by winds on Portsmouth"s Anglican CathedralImage source, PA

    The scaffolding covers surrounding Portsmouth"s Anglican Cathedral have been ripped to shreds by Storm Katie.

  17. Bridges reopen after wind speeds droppublished at 11:28

    The M48 Severn Crossing, which connects England and Wales, has now re-opened, as has the A38 Tamar Bridge in Cornwall.

    The QE2 Bridge, the southbound crossing over the River Thames at Dartford, remains closed. 

  18. Sunshine arriving after the stormpublished at 11:20

    BBC weather forecaster tweets...

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  19. Disruption in Dublin and Jerseypublished at 11:14

    Storm Katie is having an impact beyond the UK mainland. BBC TV producer Dominic Hurst is in the midst of a disgruntled crowd at Dublin airport.

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    Our colleagues in Jersey also report that ferries between the Channel Island and the UK are suspended due to the storm.

  20. WATCH: The impact of Storm Katiepublished at 11:09

    Media caption,

    Storm Katie has brought wind gusts of up to 105 mph