Storm Babet: Met Office issue second red “danger to life” weather warning as flooding ravages UK

Storm Babet is expected to continue its sweep across the UK again on Saturday (October 21), as another red “danger to life” weather warning has been issued by the Met Office. The storm left thousands of people without power on Friday with over 353 flood warnings issued in England alone.

Yellow and amber warnings for rain that were in place across much of England overnight have expired, however a yellow warning for wind remains in place until 12pm across the north east of England and eastern Scotland. A second rare red weather warning has also been issued for parts of eastern Scotland throughout Saturday, prompting First Minister Humza Yousaf to warn: “We have not seen the last of this.”

Met forecaster Jonathan Vautrey said parts of the UK have seen ‘a month and a half’s worth of rainfall’ as three people are confirmed to have died from conditions caused by the storm. He said: “The focus of the rainfall from Saturday shifts back northwards over towards eastern and northern Scotland.

“Some parts of those areas have seen about a month and a half’s worth of rain already, but there’s another band that’s forecast to track its way northwards over the course of the night and push its way towards relatively similar areas.

“So there are further red and amber rain warnings in force for Saturday, with the potential to push those areas close towards two months of rain in the span of three days.”

Mr Vautrey said the yellow wind warning across eastern Scotland and north-east England could bring “gales in excess of 60-70 miles per hour”, but added: “That is going to work its way off (the coast) throughout Saturday, so from a wind aspect there will be some improvement.”

On Friday evening, it was confirmed a man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing flood water in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire. Meanwhile, Police Scotland confirmed a 56-year-old driver was killed after their van was struck by a falling tree in Angus on Thursday. A third victim, a 57-year-old woman, also died on Thursday after being swept into a river in the region.

Elsewhere, Leeds Bradford Airport remains closed after heavy winds forced a passenger plane to skid off a runway on Friday, although the airport should reopen at 10am on Saturday. According to our sister title, Yorkshire Evening Post, the plane was visibly affected by the winds and “landed almost sideways” at “about 1.40pm”.