Hardy Tropicals UK

I videod the calm before the storm.
LINK TO VIDEO Play in HD mode

Take heed.

Bit of rain and a bit of wind here now.
Nothing dramatic, just the usual South Westerly blow we get frequently.

Train companies have cancelled early-morning services, and flights into London have been reduced.

Gusts of up to 80mph (130km/h) are predicted as the weather hits the South West then moves north and eastwards and there are fears of flooding and damage.

The prime minister has chaired talks about plans to protect the public.

In a conference call, joined by staff from organisations including the Met Office and the environment and highways agencies, David Cameron heard the storm could have a "widespread impact", his spokesman said.

But he was told there were plans in place to minimise the effect on public services such as schools, the NHS, transport and power supplies.

In other developments:

South West Trains passengers have been advised not to travel on Monday with most services not running until at least 08:00 GMT to allow Network Rail to check lines. A reduced timetable will be in operation with journey times extended as some trains are limited to speeds of 50mph
Airports including Heathrow and Gatwick are warning of possible disruption to flights and advising passengers to check with airlines before starting journeys
Airlines operating in and out of Heathrow have been instructed to reduce their schedules by between 5% and 20% between the hours of 06:00 GMT and 22:30 GMT, leading to about 60 flight cancellations. This does not apply to long-haul flights
Eurostar says it will not be running trains on Monday until 07:00 GMT, with early services from London and Brussels subject to delays of at least an hour and all morning departures operating with speed restrictions
The Environment Agency issued three flood warnings for West Bay Harbour, Lyme Regis Harbour and Chiswell in Dorset for the early hours of Monday morning due to the winds, large waves and strong swell expected
The Highways Agency is advising motorists to check the weather forecast and road conditions before they travel and to delay journeys if the weather becomes severe
Several bridges including the M48 Severn Crossing and A249 Sheppey Crossing in Kent are closed. There also are plans to shut the M4 Severn bridge and the Queen Elizabeth II bridge on the M25 in the early hours of Monday, with traffic on the later being directed through the tunnel part of the crossing
East Sussex County Council says refuse collections have been suspended on Monday because of the safety risk posed by the winds
The windy conditions are hampering the search for a 14-year-old boy swept into the sea in East Sussex


(BBC website text)

Just got this from Twitter via Met office.

It sounds like a 200 kph wind outside at the moment.

If its this bad in Southampton God help Daves garden in Gravesend.

I'm not going out in that to make a video....

billdango

A stiff breeze here now, light cloud fast moving, moon showing through.
Looking outside there does'nt appear to be any damage anywhere here.
At 1.30am it was the same.
Looks like we've been very lucky and the storm went on up the coast
Hope you guys are OK further on up there.

Not even a breeze here but lots of rain.

nothing here either,weird old lot must have dipped south at the right time

Calm and dry

Nothing at all!?

Despite the "doomsday forecast" , its been nothing other normal.

How are your 'nanas?

How are your 'nanas?

That was a bit of an anti-climax bearing in mind all of the hype. It was very slightly rough for while after the rain passed over, but the winds eased several hours ago and it's a nice sunny day now.