UK weather: Storm Lilian leaves 63,000 homes with power issues as Leeds Festival closes stages
Parts of the UK are facing power cuts and widespread travel disruption thanks to Storm Lilian – with high winds forcing Leeds Festival organisers to shut two stages.
The storm surged across Wales and England this morning and left more than 60,000 homes across the north of England without power or facing supply issues.
Northern Powergrid said it has experienced “high levels of disruption to power supplies with over 63,418 customers having been affected so far”.
The worst affected area is West Yorkshire, it added. It said it has managed to “reconnect more than 27,000 customers of those who have been impacted”.
A statement posted on Northern Powergrid’s website said: “We know how difficult it can be for our customers during a power cut and we will continue to work throughout the storm to get the power back on as quickly as possible.”
Northern Rail has reported issues across its network, with services to and from cities including Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Sheffield and Wigan affected.
Passengers were this morning advised to avoid travel, and disruption was expected until 11am.
A number of routes in Wales – Wrexham General to Chester and Bidston, Machynlleth to Shrewsbury – have also faced disruption.
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A tree branch blocks a cycle path in Leeds city centre. Pic: PA
Police on the scene as workers remove fallen tree branches blocking roads and tram routes in Manchester. Pic: Reuters
As strong winds hit Leeds Festival, organisers urged people camping to “stay in your tents if you are onsite and feel safe to do so”.
A post on X continued: “If you are in your car, please remain there. If you are not yet at the festival site, please delay your arrival.”
They later said two stages – the BBC Radio 1 stage and the brand new ‘Aux’ venue – will not feature performances today.
Flights have also been disrupted with British Airways cancelling 14 departures that had been due to take off from London’s Heathrow. A number of other aircraft were delayed.
A spokesperson for the airline said the disruption was “due to restrictions imposed by air traffic control as a result of adverse weather across the UK”.
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Scaffolding that has been blown over in Rhyl, Wales, as storm Lilian hits the UK. Pic: David Bailey/PA
What’s the forecast for the rest of the weekend?
A yellow weather warning for rain is in place across much of South East England, for 6am to 1pm on Saturday.
The warning covers an area from the Isle of Wight up to Ipswich, Suffolk, and includes London.
People should expect “spells of rain, heavy at times, likely to cause some travel disruption and perhaps flooding in a few places”, the Met Office said.
The North and North West will continue to see “a fairly unsettled weekend”, with various fronts moving in and bringing more persistent rain, particularly for parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.
Temperatures in the South East will reach 21C (69.8F) on Saturday and Sunday and 23C (73.4F) on Monday, slightly below average for the time of year.
On Sunday, southern Britain and Ireland will be mainly dry, with some sunshine, but elsewhere there’ll be showers or longer spells of rain. It’ll be on the cool side again and rather blustery, especially in the North.
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A similar picture is expected for bank holiday Monday as southern and eastern Britain will be mainly dry, with bright or sunny spells while the wind will pick up again in the North and West.
Temperatures will remain below average for most of the country.
Looking further ahead, more settled weather is expected later next week to end the month and season, Sky’s Jo Robinson said.
There’s also growing confidence that very warm or hot conditions will affect the South at least.
The Queen is unwell with a chest infection and has withdrawn from her engagements this week, Buckingham Palace has announced.
A palace spokesperson said Camilla’s doctors “have advised a short period of rest” and added that “with great regret, Her Majesty has therefore had to withdraw from her engagements for this week”.
They added the Queen “very much hopes to be recovered in time to attend this weekend’s Remembrance events as normal”.
“She apologises to all those who may be inconvenienced or disappointed as a result,” they said.
It is understood the Queen is currently resting at home and is under doctor’s supervision.
Birgitte, the Duchess of Gloucester, has stepped in on Camilla’s behalf to attend the annual opening of the Field of Remembrance at Westminster Abbey on Thursday.
The Queen has also withdrawn from a Buckingham Palace reception for Olympic and Paralympic athletes hosted by the King on the same evening.
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Camilla recently returned from an overseas tour of Australia and Samoa. No further details regarding her illness or treatment have been released.
A safety system was “blocked” during a fatal train crash in Powys, an initial investigation has found.
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) has published its initial findings into last month’s collision, in which one person died.
David Tudor Evans, 66, was described as a “lovely guy, full of life and enjoyment”.
A further 15 people were taken to hospital for treatment after the crash near Talerddig, police said.
The collision – at around 7.26pm on 21 October – involved the 6.31pm Transport for Wales service from Shrewsbury to Aberystwyth and the 7.09pm Transport for Wales service from Machynlleth to Shrewsbury.
The RAIB said the units were fitted with wheel slide protection systems – described as being similar to anti-lock braking systems in cars – and an automatic sanding system.
Sand is discharged automatically via hoses when a wheel slide is detected during braking – creating more friction at the wheel-rail interface.
A map showing the location of the crash near Llanbrynmair and Talerddig in Powys
The on-train data recorder shows the wheel slide started during braking and was also present after the driver made an emergency brake demand.
An inspection of the sanding system fitted to Aberystwyth-bound train 1J25 showed the leading vehicle’s sanding hoses were blocked.
The RAIB says they were apparently unable to discharge sand.
The ongoing investigation is also looking at the speed at which the trains were travelling when they collided.
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Initial enquiries suggest the westbound train was travelling at a speed of between 15mph and 24mph, while the eastbound train was travelling at a speed of 6mph.
The RAIB says its investigation will look at the sequence of events which led to the crash.
As part of the probe, the agency will look at factors including the actions of those involved, the level of wheel-rail adhesion, and the behaviour of both trains during and after the crash.
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In a joint statement, Transport for Wales and Network Rail said they have “fully cooperated” with the British Transport Police, the Office of Rail and Road and the Rail Accident Investigation Branch.
“As investigations are currently still ongoing, we’ll continue to work together with investigators to understand what happened and await the full conclusion and recommendations of the investigation,” a spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said safety was the “main priority” for both companies and they had “carried out enhanced checks to the trains and the railway line”.
“At this early stage of the investigation, it’s fundamental that we await the findings of the full report and show sensitivity towards our customers, colleagues, the local community and the families of those affected by the incident,” they added.
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