London, 8 December 2024 (PA Media/dpa/MIA) – Millions of Britons have been warned to brace for further disruption as more strong winds are set to sweep across the UK following Storm Darragh.

Northern Ireland was exposed to wind gusts of up to 130 kilometres per hour overnight, while a fresh yellow Met Office wind warning came into force across much of England and Wales at 6 am (0600 GMT).

More widely there are likely to be gusts of 56-72 km/h inland, even reaching 113 km/h around coasts during the morning.

It means that further travel disruption and power cuts are likely until 6 pm, the Met Office said.

Storm Darragh brought gusts of 150 km/h to some parts of the country on Saturday, with millions warned to stay indoors, tens of thousands left without power and trains cancelled.

National Rail said disruption was expected through Tottenham Hale until 9 am.

National Highways said the M48 motorway at Severn Bridge was closed in both directions between junction 1 and junction 2 until at least midday.

Wightlink said the 8 am car ferry sailing from Portsmouth and 9 am from Fishbourne were cancelled, along with the 7:15 am and 8:15 am Fastcat services from Portsmouth Harbour and the 7:45 am and 8:45 am services from Ryde Pier Head.

The Met Office said heavy rain was expected to persist in central and eastern parts of England throughout Sunday, with 20-25 millimetres forecast to fall across much of the country.

As much as 60 mm could fall over high ground of the Cheviots, Pennines and North York Moors.

Two men were killed on Saturday by falling trees hitting their vehicles.

West Midlands Police said the latest victim was killed when a tree fell and hit his car on Saturday afternoon.

Sergeant Benjamin Parsons, of the roads policing unit, said: “Our thoughts are with the man’s family at this time, and his next of kin have been informed.”

The road was closed with drivers urged to avoid the area.

Earlier in the day, a man died after a tree fell onto his van in Lancashire.

The man, in his 40s, was driving his Citroen vehicle on the A59 highway at Longton, near Preston, at about 9 am on Saturday.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Detective Sergeant Matt Davidson, from Lancashire Police’s serious collision investigation unit, said: “Very sadly, this incident has resulted in the death of a man and our thoughts are with his loved ones at this time.

“An investigation is ongoing, and I would appeal to anyone who saw what happened or has any dashcam or mobile phone footage to please get in touch.”

The UK government’s “risk to life” alert came into effect at 1am on Saturday and was sent to people within the area covered by the Met Office’s rare red warning for wind in parts of Wales and south-west England.

Energy Networks Association said 259,000 customers across England, Scotland and Wales were without power as of Saturday evening.

It said that 80% of homes affected by the storm have been reconnected.

The Environment Agency had 64 flood warnings in place in England on Sunday morning, meaning flooding is expected, while Natural Resources Wales said 25 flood warnings were active.

Photo: EPA