Suffolk enjoys hottest day of the year as Storm Kathleen sweeps Britain with 70mph winds

The east of England has seen the UK’s warmest day of the year so far, as those in the West were hit by strong winds and travel disruption when Storm Kathleen made landfall.

Temperatures reached highs of 20.9C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, to beat 2024’s previous record of 19.9C at Achfary, Sutherland, in January.

Ellie Glaisyer, the Met Office meteorologist, said: “The storm is the reason we are seeing the warmer temperatures, because the location of the storm - situated out towards the west of the UK - is bringing a southerly wind across the UK.”

As some soaked up the sun punting along the River Cam, others have faced yellow weather warnings for wind, rain and snow from the Met Office, with gusts reaching nearly 70mph.

Travellers have been left stranded as 140 flights from UK airports were cancelled, ferry services between Northern Ireland and Scotland were disrupted and train services with ScotRail operated on a slower schedule.

Some 34,000 home and business were also left without power in Ireland during the 11th named storm in eight months.

The Met Office weather warnings for the west coast of England and Northern Ireland will remain in place until 10pm on Saturday.

05:21 PM BST

That’s all for today

Thank you for following the Telegraph’s live coverage of Storm Kathleen.

Today’s main headlines included:

• Met Office confirm Saturday saw warmest day of 2024 so far

• Around 140 flights arriving into and departing from UK airports were cancelled

• Storm Kathleen brought in wind speeds of nearly 70mph

• Met Office said more wet and windy weather is to come after Storm Kathleen passes

• Trains cancelled or delayed throughout Scotland

• Several ferry services between Scotland and Northern Ireland cancelled

• Some 34,000 homes and business in Ireland faced power outages

• Storm Kathleen UK’s 11th named storm in eight months

04:33 PM BST

Saturday officially warmest day of 2024 so far

The Met Office have confirmed that today has been the hottest day of the year so far, recording 20.9C.

Today’s temperature has beat out the 19.9C recorded on the Jan 28 in Achfary, Sutherland.

The highest temperature was reached in Santon Downham, Suffolk, on Saturday afternoon.

03:50 PM BST

Pictured: Beachgoers brave wet and wind conditions

03:30 PM BST

Travel disruption continues across Scotland

Storm Kathleen has disrupted plane, rail and ferry services in Scotland because of strong winds between 50-60mph.

Flight services from Glasgow to Tiree, Barra and Dublin and from Edinburgh to Stornoway and Belfast have been affected, as Scotrail confirmed a number of safety restrictions are in place on the railways.

Services on the Borders line will run hourly and take 25 minutes longer, West Highland services will take 30 minutes longer and trains between Edinburgh and Carfin are delayed by around 15 minutes.

A tree has also fallen onto an overhead line at Bathgate, causing services along this route to terminate early.

Ferry operators Calmac and P&O have also cancelled services because of the adverse weather and The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) currently has 33 flood warnings in place.

02:56 PM BST

Titanic museum forced to close following damage to roof

Belfast’s Titanic museum has been forced to close after Storm Kathleen caused damage to the roof of the attraction’s building.

The museum described the measures as “precautionary” but said it would remain closed for Saturday and Sunday.

The museum said on X, formerly Twitter: “Due to the ongoing inclement weather, access to the roof to assess the damage is limited and redial works cannot yet begin to take place.

“The safety of the public and its staff are Titanic Belfast’s priority and as such access to the building and surrounding plaza remains closed and customers are being asked not to come to the site.”

Titanic Belfast apologised for the inconvenience and ensured refunds for all prebooked customers.

02:36 PM BST

Pictured: Satellite image shows swirling clouds of Storm Kathleen

02:17 PM BST

Edinburgh-bound flight diverted to Newcastle

A Jet2 flight from Palma de Mallorca to Edinburgh has been forced to re-route to Newcastle amid high-speed winds in the Scottish capital.

The plane circled the city multiple times before deciding to divert.

Edinburgh falls just within the Met Office’s yellow warning zone, which has been issued for strong winds as Storm Kathleen continues to hit the UK.

Saturday evening’s EPCR Challenge Cup rugby match between Edinburgh Rugby and Aviron Bayonnais has also moved to Murrayfield from Hive Stadium because of the strong winds expected.

01:43 PM BST

Crane topples into house in Greater Manchester

A crane has fallen over into a house on a residential street in Atherton, Greater Manchester as fire services have responded to the incident.

At around 10.30am on Saturday morning, a lorry carrying the crane overturned in the road, causing damage to the roof and walls of the property.

It comes as Storm Kathleen has seen strong winds throughout parts of the UK, being expected to reach 70mph in some areas.

01:28 PM BST

Punters on the River Cam bask in warmth amid storm

Members of the public enjoy the warm Saturday morning in punts along the River Cam, Cambridge, on what is expected to be the warmest day of the year so far.

Storm Kathleen has brought both strong winds that have caused flight disruptions across the country and warm air from the South, meaning temperatures could reach 22C in East Anglia.

01:04 PM BST

Met Office: Latest wind speeds from storm

12:48 PM BST

Expect more stormy weather once Storm Kathleen passes, says Met Office

Storm Kathleen is expected to ease on Sunday evening but will be replaced by another weather system towards the south west of England, the Met Office has said.

Ellie Glaisyer, the Met Office meteorologist, said: “Outbreaks of rain through Monday will mainly affect western parts of the UK. As we go through the day into Tuesday we’re likely to see the strongest wind across the south-west of the UK.

“It’s coming relatively quickly after Storm Kathleen. It’s not out of the question that a warning could be issued but I wouldn’t like to say yet.”

12:37 PM BST

Watch: Drivers in Northern Ireland face wet and windy conditions

12:31 PM BST

Bristol Airport flights face delays

A number of flights arriving into and departing from Bristol Airport are facing delays as Storm Kathleen sweeps across the west coast of England.

Flights from Bristol to Malaga, Faro and Palma among others have been delayed by around an hour as winds pick up.

The storm has created travel disruption across the country as P&O Ferries cancelled sailings between parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland until 4pm on Saturday.

12:01 PM BST

Pictured: Seal washes up in car park

As Storm Kathleen hits West Cork with 70mph winds, large waves created have caused a dead seal to wash up on a shore-side car park in the area.

11:57 AM BST

Thousands without power as storm sweeps across coast

Thousands of homes in Ireland have been left without electricity as Storm Kathleen continues to hit Ireland with strong winds.

Power outages reported on Saturday morning were concentrated in the south and west of the country, with local news reporting 2,500 homes without power in County Donegal.

An orange wind warning for Cork, Kerry and Waterford came into effect at 7am and will lift at 2pm, while another status orange wind warning is in place for Galway and Mayo until 6pm.

Winds of 56mph have also hit the Isles of Scilly, off the Cornish coast, on Saturday morning, according to the Met Office.

11:33 AM BST

Environment Agency issues 14 flood warnings and alerts for Thames

The Environment Agency issued 14 flood warnings – where flooding is expected – and another 113 flood alerts for England on Saturday.

The agency also cautioned boat users on the River Thames after announcing 45 red cautions for strong streams on the river.

National Resources Wales have also issued six flood alerts.

11:20 AM BST

American Airlines flight diverted to Paris as storm picks up

An American Airlines from Dallas to Dublin has been diverted to Paris as travellers face further disruption because of expected 70mph winds from Storm Kathleen.

The Boeing 777 was re-routed to the French capital after completing three rounds of holding at Dublin airport before flying away, according to one user on X, formerly Twitter.

The storm made landfall in Ireland this morning and has caused at least three dozen Aer Lingus flights from the airport on Saturday to be cancelled.

11:10 AM BST

Strong winds sends objects flying across Ireland as 2,500 homes lose power

Almost 2,500 homes in County Donegal have lost power this morning as Storm Kathleen made landfall.

Forecaster Met Eireann warned of gale force southerly winds bringing a risk of difficult travel conditions, fallen trees, power outages and flooding along coastal areas of Ireland.

In Drimnagh, a suburb of Dublin, residents came across a trampoline in the middle of the road swept up in winds caused by Storm Kathleen.

11:07 AM BST

Londoners enjoy warmest day of the year so far

Members of the public in the south of the country have been enjoying the warm weather, as other parts of the UK face yellow warnings for rain and snow.

It will be the warmest day of 2024 so far and near the recorded highest temperature for April 6 of 23.9C in Santon Downham in 2011.

According to the Met Office, the last time temperatures exceeded 22C was October last year.

10:38 AM BST

Mix of weather likely to cause pollen explosion

The mixture of hot weather in the south of England and snow warnings in Scotland is set to cause an explosion of pollen across the country.

With birch trees, one of the first to offload their pollen into the air, ahead of schedule because of warmer temperatures, winds from Storm Kathleen are likely shake tree pollen and kick start hayfever season.

One in two people in Britain suffer pollen allergies, according to Allergy UK.

10:05 AM BST

Pictured: Map of Met Office weather warnings across UK

09:46 AM BST

Flights cancelled to and from Belfast City Airport amid storm

Dozens flights arriving into and departing from Belfast City Airport have been cancelled following increasing winds from Storm Kathleen.

All Aer Lingus flights leaving the airport on Saturday have been cancelled, leaving passengers unable to travel to other parts of the UK.

Aer Lingus flights arriving into Belfast City Airport have also faced disruption, with passengers in Manchester, Edinburgh and Birmingham left stranded.

One user took to X, formerly Twitter, to share their frustration: “My flight EI3678 from Belfast City to Leeds Bradford at 6.05pm was cancelled and I’ve tried all means of rebooking multiple times - phone, online & ground staff.

“Nothing working and can’t get through to anyone. I am a disabled flyer & am finding the ordeal distressing.”

Some flights from Dublin to Britain have been cancelled and other airlines such as Air France and British Airways have also been affected.

09:20 AM BST

Flooding in York as River Ouse bursts its banks

Storm Kathleen has caused the River Ouse to burst its banks, leading to flooding across roads in York city centre.

Water levels in the river had remained high after recent rainfall and a flood alert for the upper section of the river was put in place at 8.30am for riverside footpaths and low-lying land in York.

The Environment Agency has warned those in the area to avoid using low lying footpaths or bridges near local watercourses and to not attempt to walk or drive through the flood water.

09:12 AM BST

Pictured: Storm Kathleen makes waves across the UK

09:08 AM BST

Yellow weather warnings in place for west coast of England and Ireland

The Met Office has put yellow warning warnings for wind in place for western parts of England and Northern Ireland as the UK braces for Storm Kathleen.

The yellow warning has been issued for the entire west coast of Britain as well as Northern Ireland until 10pm tonight.

Christoph Almond, the deputy chief meteorologist, said: “Gusts of 50 mph are expected quite widely on Saturday, while some exposed spots, particularly on the coast, will see 60 to 70 mph gusts with large waves also likely.”

Yellow warnings are issued when it is likely that the weather will cause some low level impacts across the country, such as disruption to travel.

Previous yellow warnings for snow and rain in Scotland were also announced by the Met Office from 3am on Friday until 9am Saturday.

08:49 AM BST

Network Rail Scotland to slow trains amid concerns of strong winds

Network Rail Scotland have decided “to slow trains down in several areas” ahead of the 50-60mph winds expected in Scotland from around lunchtime today.

Trains will operate at a slower speed from midday until 7pm on routes including the West Highland Line, central belt from Glasgow Central to Edinburgh Waverley and for around 8 miles between Shotts and Addiewell.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, the train service said: “Our specialist weather forecaster, based in our control room, will monitor the storm using live wind data.

“If we can remove these speed restrictions sooner, we will. Likewise, if we need to take further action, we will.”

It continued to warn travellers that journeys will take longer than usual and advised passengers to check train routes before leaving the house.

08:33 AM BST

Kathleen UK’s 11th named storm

Storm Kathleen, named by Met Eireann, the Irish meteorological service, is the 11th named storm in eight months.

It is only the second time in the UK’s storm season, which runs from the end of September to the beginning of August, that the letter K has been reached in the alphabet.

The first time the letter K was reached was in March 2016, with Storm Katie.

08:26 AM BST

Storm to bring warmest day of the year so far

East Anglia and the south east of England could see temperatures as high as 22C, making Saturday the hottest day of the year so far, as warm air is blown in from the south west.

The previous highest temperature was 19.9C, recorded at the end of January at Achfary, in north-west Scotland.

Alex Burkill, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “This would be the first time we have seen 20C this year.

“It is worth noting that across parts of the south-east actually we’re not going to see a huge amount of rain on Saturday and we’re going to drag in some very warm air.”

08:14 AM BST

Watch: Met Office’s expected trajectory of Storm Kathleen

08:10 AM BST

Good morning

Welcome to The Telegraph’s live coverage of today’s weather in the UK.

Storm Kathleen is expected to bring both strong winds and the hottest day of the year so far for the UK, as it pummels the country with warm air from the continent over the weekend.

Follow along here for all the latest updates.

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