The FINANCIAL — Nearly 100 flood warnings remain across the UK – six of them in England severe, which means there is a danger to life. The extreme weather slammed areas that were still recovering from recent storm, Ciara. George and Amal Clooney’s £12m Berkshire home surrounded by floods.
The storm, named Dennis and classified as a “weather bomb” by the national weather service, the Meteorological Office, unleashed wind gusts of 91 miles per hour, becoming one of the most intense winter storms to grip the North Atlantic. The term weather bomb is applied when the air pressure of a storm drops by a certain measure in 24 hours, causing huge turbulence and high wind speeds, according to The New York Times.
Around 300 flights were cancelled due to Storm Dennis over the weekend, affecting 50,000 passengers. Storm Dennis has continued to wreak havoc after venturing beyond the UK into northern Europe, with Germany, Estonia and a number of Scandinavian countries all affected by flooding, power outages and extreme weather conditions. In Dortmund, a train carrying 67 passengers crashed into a tree that had been brought down on the tracks by high winds. The River Elbe, which runs through Hamburg, burst its banks earlier this week, causing the city’s famous fish market to flood, as reported by Metro.
The extreme weather slammed areas that were still recovering from recent storm, Ciara. That storm, called Sabine in German-speaking countries, tore through Belgium, Britain, France, Germany and Poland with winds of more than 90 miles per hour. It forced the cancellation of hundreds of flights, train services and sports matches, The New York Times.
Flooding and damage left in the wake of Storm Dennis, which swept across the UK on 15 and 16 February, is estimated to cost £225m in insurance claims, taking the total insurance costs from two February storms to £425m. The severe weather brought heavy rain and strong winds to England and Wales, which led to record high river levels and flooded hundreds of properties, according to The Guardian.
Following this weekend’s severe weather, the River Wye has reached its highest ever recorded level. The river stands at 5.02 metres, beating the record set in October 1998 of 4.95 metres. A severe flood warnings has been issued for River Wye at Blackmarstone, Hereford, and a number of flood warnings are in place for the surrounding areas. The Met Office long-range weather forecast currently predicts “unsettled and often windy conditions” between February 21 and March 1, Express reported.
George and Amal Clooney have felt the effects of Storm Dennis after the grounds of their £12million home have been submerged under floodwater. The couple owns a property that backs onto the River Thames in Sonning-on-Thames, Berkshire, and aerial photos show how their tennis court, lawn, and veranda of their summer house have been hit by flooding, as reported by HELLO! Magazine.
Met Office plans world’s-fastest weather forecasting supercomputer to predict storms up to eight days in advance. A new supercomputer designed to improve severe weather and climate forecasting is to receive £1.2 billion from the Government towards its development, Telegraph wrote.
