London weather: Capital braced for high winds as Storm Imogen batters Britain

Storm Imogen: London will be hit by high winds and torrential rain
Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire
Laura Proto7 February 2016

London will be hit by winds of up to 60mph and heavy rain as Storm Imogen batters Britain on Monday.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for London and the Home Counties as the storm sweeps in from the English Channel.

The weather warning, which is in place from 3am to 6pm on Monday, comes after the capital faced blustery showers on Saturday.

Parts of London will also see heavy rain and strong winds of between 40 to 50mph on Sunday evening.

The storm is threatening to fell trees, down power lines and cause havoc during the Monday morning commute, while predicted torrential downpours are expected to cause problems during the evening rush hour.

Wet and windy: Commuters could face disruption to their journey on Monday morning
Daniel Leal-Olivas/PA Wire

Elsewhere in the UK, winds of up to 80mph have been predicted, with an amber weather warning issued for Hampshire, West Sussex and the Isle of Wight.

Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: “People should be prepared for disruption to travel on roads, rail, bridges and ferries and we could see possible damage to structures and downed trees risk affecting power.

“The wind will be combined with some hefty showers with some thunder along the south coast.”

South West Trains, which operates many commuter journeys from Hampshire and Surrey into London, said services on their routes will be affected from this evening.

The rail operator said 50mph speed restrictions were in place across the costal routes of the network, with journey times expected to increase by up to 30 minutes.

In a statement, South West Trains said: “At present we are planning to run a normal weekend timetable on all routes this evening until Monday 8 February, however the risk of trees and debris being blown onto the railway may require us to make adjustments to trains in certain areas.

“In particular, the first trains to run over tracks may need to be cancelled to allow us to ensure these routes are clear and safe to run passenger services. There may also be changes in the number of carriages to some services.”

Passengers are advised to check their journey before travelling.

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