Storm Bronagh: Road and rail disruption as wind and rain hits West Midlands
Commuters were facing disruption this morning after Storm Bronagh brought heavy rain and wind to the West Midlands overnight.
No trains were running between Rugeley and Walsall for two hours after heavy rain blocked the line, while minor road flooding has also caused disruption on the M6 and A5.
And the West Midlands Metro network was brought to a halt when overhead line power was lost to the entire system at around 10.30am.
Power was restored by 11am but people travelling between Wolverhampton and Birmingham were warned to expect delays.
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Although the worst of the weather is now over, a yellow severe weather warning for wind has now been extended until 6pm on Friday.
The alert - which covers all of the Black Country and Staffordshire as well as much of Wales, the North West and the East Midlands - warns that delays are likely on all forms of transport and that power cuts are also possible.
Some parts of Stone were heavily flooded this morning, while Shugborough Hall is closing at 1pm today because of the forecast for high winds.
Gales reached up to 76mph overnight as Storm Bronagh swept across the UK just one day after two people were killed during Storm Ali.
As a result of the railway flooding, passengers between Rugeley Trent Valley and Walsall had to take rail replacement buses between 7am and 9am.
All lines are now back open but West Midlands Railway warned that services would continue to be delayed and cancelled as a result of the disruption.
There were also delays on the M6 after a two-car crash near Walsall this morning.
All lanes are now back open between Junction 10 and 10a for the M54 but northbound traffic was stopped completely while emergency services dealt with the smash at around 8.30am.
One person suffered minor injuries.
There were delays on the M6 last night when surface water built up following torrential rain during the start of the storm.
One lane was closed northbound for around two hours between Junction 8 for the M5 and Junction 9 for Walsall for around two hours until the water was cleared at 10pm.
More rain coming
The weather is expected to improve later on Friday and on Saturday but thunderstorms and more heavy rain are expected on Sunday.
Another severe weather alert has been issued for the West Midlands - this time for rain - with the Met Office warning of potential flooding and travel disruption.
But Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge said it will be “perhaps not as bad as first feared”.
“We have got reasonably good weather conditions anticipated over the next few days, given that Storm Bronagh is now leaving our shores," Mr Madge added.
“It exited the North East last night and in the early hours of the morning into the North Sea, although the back end of the storm will still cause heavy winds in offshore areas in the North East.
“Its influence over the weather picture is waning, and in truth it is only really going to be impacting upon those offshore north-eastern areas.”
In south-west Wales there were 12 flood warnings in place on Friday morning, with nearly 40 flood alerts issued across the country, while there were individual warnings in place in Staffordshire, Chesterfield and South Yorkshire, with more than 30 alerts across the north of England and West Midlands.
Storm sweeps across UK
Sheffield saw nearly half a month’s rain fall in 24 hours, while more than half a month’s rain fell in Sennybridge in Wales.
Police forces have warned motorists to be aware of fallen trees, debris and power lines on the roads during the morning rush hour.
The A1 near Gonerby Moor in Lincolnshire was closed on Friday morning as recovery crews removed a lorry that had left the carriageway, while flooding on the M6 at Crewe forced a slip road to be closed for several hours.
Speed restrictions were in place for many trains across the network in Wales and the west and north of England due to high winds, which were forecast to reach between 45 and 50mph across much of the country.
In Wales a landslip in the Dinas Rhondda blocked the railway line between Ystrad Rhondda and Porth, while a tree stopped trains between Carmarthen and Milford Haven.
There were also reports of delays to airborne aircraft arriving at Manchester Airport due to windy conditions.
