London was battered by 69mph winds on Tuesday bringing disruption to thousands of commuters as they returned to the office following the New Year bank holiday.
The Met Office issued a yellow warning for wind covering the southern half of the UK including London, from 8am until 9pm on Tuesday and the high winds caused chaos on the capital's train network.
ITV Weather reported wind gusts of up to 69 mph at Heathrow Airport on Tuesday evening, meanwhile a strong gust downed a large tree in Tooting, which then crashed into a concrete structure.
The Metropolitan Police said a woman was taken to hospital after being struck by a falling tree in south-east London.
A spokesperson for the force said: “Police were called at 3.14pm on Tuesday January 2 to reports that a woman had been struck by a tree in Station Approach, Orpington.
“Officers attended along with paramedics from the London Ambulance Service and the London Fire Brigade.
“The woman was taken to hospital. Her injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Her family has been informed.”
Thameslink has urged passengers not to travel unless absolutely necessary due to “multiple weather-related incidents across the entire network”.
It said all routes would be affected by disruption of up to 90 minutes.
South Western Railway is urging people not to travel on its services due to the severe weather.
In a statement on X, formerly twitter, the rail firm said: “We recommend that you do not travel on the South Western Railway due to the severe weather.
“Disruption will affect all lines on the wider network. We’re sorry for the disruption this causes.”
SWR has also authorised customers to book their own taxis for travel across its network and claim a refund by providing their contact details, proof of ticket and a receipt for the taxi.
Among the rail problems reported was on the London Overground between Clapham Junction and Surrey Quays where services were suspended after "an obstruction on the track" at Queens Road Peckham.
Trains were not expected to run again on that section of line until tomorrow.
The DLR was suspended between Canary Wharf and Lewisham and passengers were warned of "severe delays" between Poplar and Bank and Tower Gateway due to an obstruction on the track at Heron Quays.
Some trains were cancelled between Clapham Junction and Waterloo earlier until a safety check could be made on track in Battersea and trains to Watford and Maidenhead were subject to delays.
Southeastern Trains announced it was putting speed restrictions in place on some lines in response to the strong winds with passengers travelling to locations including Dover, Ramsgate and Canterbury among those affected.
The line to Hastings was also blocked because of a tree on the line at Wadhurst.
Southern Rail also announced speed restrictions, saying trains would travel up to 40mph on "multiple routes south of London" including trains to Brighton.
Footage posted online showed scaffolding being blown off the front of a building in Sutton.
Probably best to stay away from the top of sutton this evening😬 @SuttonCouncil #StormHenk #wind pic.twitter.com/e5LaMMcrfI
— Ryan Staples (@RyanStaples1) January 2, 2024
Scaffolding was also ripped down in Greenwich, landing in the road.
London Fire Brigade urged people to stay indoors and warned of the dangers of "flying debris" blown by the wind.
There were also problems for commuters on the Elizabeth Line who were left stuck "for an hour" on Tuesday evening as several major west London routes were brought to a standstill by a power supply problem.
Strong winds are expected to last throughout the day in London, reaching a peak of about 45mph around 4pm.
The Met Office said bus services were also likely to be affected, while "short term loss of power and other services is possible".
🌧️ Make the most of any drier weather on Tuesday morning as for most of us it will be in short supply
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 1, 2024
⚠️ Heavy and persistent rain for many, especially in the south, but very mild here
🌬️ Very windy in northern Scotland and southern Britain
Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/dT5XLxxNCO
The gale force winds are joined by a spell of heavy rain, due to last throughout the morning and until around 2pm, marking a grim first day back to work for many Londoners.
Gusts of 70 to 80mph are likely on exposed coasts in the west of the country, with gusts of 50 to 60mph expected inland.
It says “very windy conditions are likely to quickly develop” over south-west England and southern Wales on Tuesday morning and then spread eastwards across southern and some central parts of England.
It adds: “In coastal areas winds are likely to gust towards 60mph at times, with a lower likelihood of 70mph gusts.
“Inland gusts of 40 to 50mph are likely but with a smaller chance of 55 to 60mph gusts, although the extent of such gusts carries low confidence at present.”
A yellow rain warning has been issued for the majority of England, excluding London and the south-east and the northernmost parts of the country.
The rain warning was in place from 5pm to 9pm on Tuesday.
The Met Office predicted drier weather for London on Tuesday afternoon but with some scattered showers.
