London is bracing for the worst of Storm Austen today, with the Met Office’s yellow wind warning in force until 21:00 and gusts of more than 70mph possible in the most exposed areas.
The storm has already made its presence felt on the roads. Two lanes of the M25 are closed after flooding on the anticlockwise carriageway between J25 at Enfield and J24 at Potters Bar, leaving drivers facing long delays this morning.
Forecasters say travel disruption, power cuts and flying debris are all possible as the storm moves eastwards through Friday. While the headline 70mph figure applies to the most exposed coastal spots rather than central London, the capital will still see heavy rain and strong winds for much of the day.
If you want the detail on rain, our hour-by-hour Storm Austen forecast shows the heaviest downpours hitting around lunchtime, with a 95 per cent chance of heavy rain at 2pm.
On the railways, GWR has cut West Country services back to Plymouth for Friday, and anyone driving this weekend should check our round-up of this weekend’s M25 closures, including the QEII Bridge.
A yellow warning is the Met Office’s lowest level of weather alert, but it still means taking care on the roads and checking before you travel — particularly on exposed routes and bridges, where gusts are strongest.
This is a developing story — updates will appear live on this page through Friday.
