Shropshire Star

Shropshire weather: 55mph winds hit county as flood alerts remain in place

Flood alerts remained in place for Shropshire today as the Met Office warned of heavy winds affecting the region throughout the day - with gusts of 55mph recorded in the county this afternoon,

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Alerts - meaning flooding is possible, be prepared - were in place for the River Severn in Shropshire, the Severn Vyrnwy Confluence and Tern and Perry Catchments.

The Met Office has issued a yellow alert for winds from 8am-7pm today. It follows a day of high winds yesterday which brought down trees.

This afternoon the Met Office station at RAF Shawbury recorded a gust of 55mph as the wind picked up.

Yesterday motorists near Oswestry were left with a detour on their way home from work when a large tree was felled between Knockin and Kinnerley shortly after 5.30pm.

The road was completely blocked with locals forced to take diversions until local farmers armed with chainsaws came to the rescue and helped clear the road.

Oswestry police tweeted:

The Met Office today said a spell of strong and gusty winds is expected to move eastwards during Thursday. Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely. Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges are also possible. There is also the potential for some short term loss of power supplies.Chief Forecaster's assessment.

Nationally , the strongest winds will affect southwest England and Wales during the morning, moving east to reach eastern parts of England later in the afternoon. Gusts of 50-60 mph are likely fairly widely with some gusts reaching 65-75 mph along exposed coasts and over high ground in the west.