Hurricane Katia

The M6 had to be closed at the Thelwall viaduct in Cheshire and the Tour of Britain bike race stage between Kendall and Blackpool was cancelled amid fears of dangerously strong winds caused by the remnants of Hurricane Katia.

Central and southern Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and areas of northern England have been battered by gusts exceeding 80mph, caused by the former tropical cyclone in the Atlantic.

High winds in Cumbria and Lancashire meant organisers of the Tour of Britain were forced to cancel the scheduled second stage.
A Tour spokesman said: 'The high points (of the route) and particularly Blackpool on the sea front is unsafe, unfortunately.'

Trees everywhere from Brighton to Liverpool to Wales have so far been felled by powerful winds.

Thousands of homes and business across central England are without power after the hurricane winds damaged overhead power lines.

Heavy rainfall is expected later and flood alerts have been issued on both the west and east coasts.
The storm is expected to be the worst to hit the UK in 15 years.

I decided against going on the Prom for a photo...it was safer to take the garden from the window