THURROCK is set to be battered by a storm bringing strong winds and the threat of disruption to the end of the Easter weekend.
Storm Katie is set to hit on Easter Monday with gales of up to 70mph, the Met Office said, bringing a risk of “fallen trees and disruption to power supplies” leading to travel disruption.
A national severe weather warning for strong winds has been issued for Monday, with southern England and south Wales likely to bear the brunt.
Frank Saunders, the Met Office chief operational meteorologist, said there was “currently some uncertainty about the track that Storm Katie will take”.
He said: “Southern England and south Wales will see very strong winds from the early hours of Monday morning.
“There is the potential for gusts of 50-60mph in inland areas. Exposed south- and west-facing coasts could even see gusts of around 70mph, with the possibility of large waves.
“We expect the winds will start to ease in south-western Britain from mid-morning, this improvement reaching other areas by late afternoon or early evening.”
Hopes of spring weather over the Easter break have been washed away as Britain braces itself for a weekend of wind and rain.
The Met Office’s yellow warning for wind, which covers most of England and Wales but not Scotland and Northern Ireland, also advises the estimated 6 million people expected to travel over the weekend to be aware of possible disruption to their journeys.
Easter Sunday is forecast to be brighter, with some sunny spells, but the showers are set to continue, with potentially hail and thunder in some parts, the Met Office said.
