Devon braces for Storm Darragh

Devon County Council are advising Devon’s motorists to drive carefully this weekend as the county braces for high winds and rain from Storm Darragh.

Storm Darragh is the latest named storm of the season following on from Storm Bert two weeks ago.

An Red Wind warning and a series of Amber Weather warnings have been put in place by the Met Office over the course of the next few days.

The windy and wet weather started today and will continue through Friday with the highest winds expected during Saturday afternoon and Saturday evening.

The Met Office has published an Red Wind Warning from 1am Saturday morning, to 9pm Saturday evening December 7 with a Yellow Weather Warning for both wind and rain from 3pm Friday December 6 through to Sunday December 7, at 6am.

The highest windspeeds are likely to be in the North of Devon and exposed areas down towards Dartmoor.

Here we could see wind speeds of 50-60mph with some gusts over 60mph in isolated areas.

Areas in the south of the county that may be sheltered by high ground may experience lower wind speeds

Around 15-25 mm of rain could fall across the county over the course of Friday and Saturday with exposed higher ground at the greatest risk of flooding.

Wind and rain may cause disruption to travel, with difficult driving conditions likely.

This could lead to road, rail, air and ferry services being affected and spray and flooding may make difficult driving conditions more difficult possibly resulting in some road closures.

There may also be hazards with fallen trees, flying debris while beach material could be washed onto coastal roads.

The public is advised to take care when walking near cliffs or around coastal areas.

The Councils highways teams are well prepared and despite the disruption caused by Storm Bert highways teams ensured that most of the incidents were dealt with quickly and the majority of the road network was running smoothly just 48 hours after the storm had landed.

Ahead of this weekend extra Neighbourhood Teams will be on standby ready to respond to any incidents and additional highways gangs and tree surgery crews will be available if needed.

There will be extra resources available at the Network Operations Control Centre.

Devon County Council is reminding people of the following advice:

• Be alert to fallen trees and branches, particularly on minor roads where they may not have been reported;
• Consider if your journey is essential and be alert to weather warnings.
• Allow additional time for your journey, never drive through floodwater or swollen flowing water, you don’t know how deep it is. Find an alternative route;
• Reduce your speed and leave more space between you and the vehicle in front and leave plenty of room if you’re overtaking.
• Drive with care and according to the conditions.
• Listen to local radio for updates on current weather conditions