Posing up a Storm! Revellers smile for pictures as they brave Storm Babet to enjoy a good night out
By Gina Kalsi[1] and Jon Brady[2]
Published: 09:59, 21 October 2023 | Updated: 18:03, 21 October 2023
Students in Leeds braved the cold, wind and rain yesterday in the early hours of the morning as they refused to let Storm Babet spoil their night out.
The Met Office[3] has issued amber and yellow warnings until tomorrow, with persistent heavy rain expected to bring serious flooding and disruption in Leeds.
Yellow and amber warnings in place across large swathes of England have been lifted save for a yellow ‘be aware’ alert for wind that stretches from Whitby in Yorkshire all the way up to Aberdeen.
Those hitting the town were forced to use their jackets as makeshift umbrellas as they huddled together for shelter.
Partygoers were pictured wearing summery clothing – from shorts and skirts to crop tops and bodycon dresses as they flocked to bars and pubs.
Some determined revellers even walked around the streets of the northern city with broken umbrellas as they got caught up in the rainy weather conditions.
One women – who opted to wear a pink bandeau top, shirt co-ord and heels – was pictured smiling and throwing her hands in the air.
Two girls went out partying in Leeds city centre and refused to let Storm Babet dampen their mood
Two women are pictured wearing bodycon dresses as they share a small umbrella to shetler from the rain in Leeds
A group of young students look in high sprits as brave the wind and rain to pose for the camera in Leeds
This young woman was caught unprepared for the stormy conditions and opted to use a scarf to cover her hair
Two young students pose for the camera and use a yellow umbrella for shelter
A pair of students were snapped sharing a blazer jacket between them as they hit the town
Flood warnings remain: across England, there were over 353 warnings and 248 alerts on Saturday morning, while 55,000 people were left without power on Friday; 45,000 of those were reconnected last night, the Energy Networks Association said.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency says it has 12 flood alerts, 17 flood warnings and five severe flood warnings in place; 25 flood alerts and 12 warnings have been issued by Natural Resources Wales.
A yellow Met Office alert for rain remain in place for most of central and north-eastern Scotland, with amber rain warnings across Highland Perthshire and the eastern Highlands north of Inverness.
The forecaster said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, the highest rainfall total on Friday was 84mm in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
Met forecaster Jonathan Vautrey told the PA news agency: ‘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.’
The storm has claimed the lives of three people since Thursday including two in Angus, Scotland[4]: a 57-year-old woman who died after being swept into a river and a 56-year-old man in the region who was killed by a falling tree that struck his van.
A man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing flood water in Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire on Friday; police found his body two hours after he disappeared under the water.
One friend was pictured wearing a waterproof winter coat, however her friend had to take off her denim jacket to shield herself from the rain
Two men use a plastic blow-up banana for cover from the stormy weather conditions in Leeds yesterday
The Met Office has issued amber and yellow warnings until tomorrow, with persistent heavy rain expected to bring serious flooding and disruption in Leeds
A group of young women pose for the camera as they braved the Storm for a good night out
A group of revellers walk around the rainy streets of Leeds as they enjoy a good night out
A man dressed in a suit uses his blazer as a makeshift umbrellas as he tries to shelter from the rain
Two friends brave Storm Babet as they flock to bars in Leeds using a jacket as makeshift umbrellas
A group of friends smile and laugh whilst being photographed out in Leeds during Storm Babet
Yellow and amber warnings in place across large swathes of England have been lifted save for a yellow ‘be aware’ alert for wind that stretches from Whitby in Yorkshire all the way up to Aberdeen
Two friends smile and pose for the camera as they flock to bars in Leeds to enjoy a night out
Two revellers hold two party balloons and gifts as they get caught in Storm Babet walking along the streets of Leeds
A woman uses a scarf to cover herself from the rain as she walks alongside a man who is wearing a waterproof jacket
Two girls are pictured wearing just bodycon dresses as they hit Leeds city centre for a night out
Elsewhere, Storm Babet has wrought chaos, grinding train services to a halt as railway lines were flooded and roads were waterlogged, submerging vehicles in the streets. Roads across the country are dotted with abandoned and flooded cars.
In Nottinghamshire, fire and rescue service staff came to the aid of four people trapped on the roof of their car after it got stuck in flood waters in Trowell, a few miles west of Nottingham.
A ‘major incident’ has been declared in Derbyshire where footage showed a school bus flooding as screaming schoolchildren pull their legs up onto their seats.
Moments before the water gushes in, one pupil can be seen gesturing to the others to move up to the higher deck of the bus. The children’s screams of terror increase as the water rises and one shouts: ‘No, no, no, no.’
Yesterday, Derbyshire Fire and Rescue urged people not to travel, adding that it had rescued 60 people after floods occurred in Brampton, Chesterfield with residents moved to a rescue centre.
Flooding caused 70-minute delays on the A1 near Grantham on Friday, National Highways said, while further south, Suffolk declared a major incident as Storm Babet caused “major flooding” across the county.
The rural village of Debenham was cut off by flooding, residents said, while tractors were being used to rescue people caught in the flood water.
Around 50 people were sheltering in the local leisure centre there and sleeping on crash mats, staff said.
Elsewhere fire services in Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire shared pictures on X of vehicles semi-submerged in water after drivers were rescued.
Storm Babet even caused passengers on a Tui flight had to be evacuated from a plane at Leeds Bradford Airport after it came off the runway[5] as it landed.
Flight TOM3551, which departed from Corfu just after 12.30pm local time (10.30am BST), was attempting to land at the airport in strong winds when the Boeing 737-800 slipped off the tarmac and was left stranded on the grass.
The airport’s emergency siren is understood to have activated when the aircraft careered off the runway upon landing at around 1.53pm BST.
Witnesses described it as a ‘hard landing’.
There were no reports of any injuries, operator Tui said.
Malcolm Fell, who was on the flight, described the incident as ‘a little bit dramatic’ but everyone onboard was ‘quite calm’.
Recalling his experience, he said: ‘The plane came down and the pilot applied reverse thrust on the brakes and it started to aquaplane,’ adding ‘it seemed to speed up rather than slow down’.
‘My wife, [who] was sat next to me, turned to me and said I think you better brace yourself because this is not going to stop.
‘And then all of a sudden…we were at a standstill on the grass,’ he said.
A group of students walk around Leeds with a broken umbrella during Storm Babet
These two women were pictured using their coats for cover in Leeds yesterday as the northern city battles Storm Babet
A girl dressed in a green top walked around the streets of Leeds with a jacket over her head
A man is stressed in a yellow jacket typing on his phone as he walks along the rainy streets of Leeds
This group of women brought three umbrellas out with them and wrapped up warm as they braved the stormy conditions
These students were forced to walk around with a broken umbrella for shelter in Leeds yesterday
These women opted to bring umbrellas out with them to prepare for the rainy conditions
A young woman dressed in pink smiles for the camera as she braves the cold and rainy conditions to go on a night out
Flood warnings remain: across England, there were over 353 warnings and 248 alerts on Saturday morning
A group of girls brave the storm wearing just shorts and skirts as they huddle under one umbrella
References
- ^ Gina Kalsi (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Jon Brady (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Met Office (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ two in Angus, Scotland (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ after it came off the runway (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Leeds (www.dailymail.co.uk)
- ^ Met Office (www.dailymail.co.uk)