Travel Misery Amid High Winds

Commuters face more travel misery due to high winds and heavy rain as severe weather continues to batter the UK.

Gale force gusts of 60mph threaten to cause travel disruption for railway users in the south of the country.

Drivers in Scotland, north Wales and the north of England are also being warned to allow extra time for their journeys due to ice on the road.

The Met Office issued a yellow be aware'' warning for today, with high probability of severe cold weather, icy conditions and some snow continuing until Sunday morning.

Railway lines between Weymouth and Southampton, Exeter to Salisbury and Southampton and Portsmouth are expected to be among the worst hit, South West Trains said.

The operator is sending out empty passenger trains before services begin to check that the lines are safe and clear.

Specialist response crews will be deployed, including chainsaw teams and railway maintenance and first response staff.

National Rail said flooding had left trains in Wales unable to run between Machynlleth and Newtown, with a bus replacement service not operational until 8am.

The disruption, affecting journeys between Pwllheli, Aberystwyth and Shrewsbury is likely to last until 10am, the company said.

Rail passengers are advised to check services before the travel.

A top wind speed of 90mph was recorded overnight at Needles Battery on the west coast of the Isle of Wight, but elsewhere gusts peaked at 60mph, and are expected to ease as the rain clears off the coast of Kent by around 9am.

Most parts of the UK will experience some respite following the stormy weather of recent days, forecaster Kate Brown said.

As showers ease off later much of the country will see dry and bright conditions, but it will still feel cool with north westerly winds,'' she said.

The latest stormy weather comes after power was restored yesterday to thousands of homes left without electricity following a weather bomb'' of gales and lightning strikes that swept the north of the country.

Properties in the Western Isles and Skye were the worst affected by the stormy conditions along the west coast of Scotland over the last two days.

At the peak of the problems around 30,000 homes lost electricity, while a further 27,000 were cut off after a lightning strike yesterday morning.

A wind speed of 144mph was recorded on the remote St Kilda islands on Wednesday, with gusts of more than 80mph also hitting some low-lying areas.