Thousands of homes were left without power on Saturday as Storm Bert continued to lash the country with winds of up to 70mph battering many areas.
Forecasters said that as temperatures start to rise over the weekend, melting snow and heavy rain would also cause serious flooding across the country.
And UK power chiefs warned that for most parts of the country the severe weather had yet to make its full impact.
“Forecasters are describing this as a ‘multi-hazard event’ with the worst of the weather yet to arrive, and so our members have extra engineers and contact centre teams available, and control rooms are monitoring the storm closely as it develops,” said Ross Easton, of the Energy Networks Association, which represents the UK’s power network operators.
Strong winds were expected to cause “dangerous coastal conditions”, the Met Office added, while a yellow wind warning is in place until 9pm on Sunday for southern England and parts of Wales. The strongest gust so far during the storm was 82mph, recorded in Capel Curig, north Wales.
A man in his 60s died after a tree fell on to a car travelling south on the A34 near Winchester on Saturday morning, according to Hampshire police, who are investigating whether the incident was linked to the weather.
In West Yorkshire, a 34-year-old man from Bradford died after a car collided with a wall in Shipley. Officers are investigating the cause, but it is understood that the road was not icy at the time.
Five adults and five children had to be rescued from a house in Llanarmon Dyffryn Ceiriog, near Llangollen in north Wales, following a landslide.
A North Wales fire and rescue service spokesperson said they are all being assessed by ambulance services away from the scene “somewhere warm”.
A further landslide has been reported in the area but it is understood no one has been affected.
Storm Bert hit the UK on Saturday morning as weather warnings and 16 flood alerts came into effect across the UK. Areas of Scotland, Yorkshire and the north-east of England had amber warnings for heavy snow in place, while much of the rest of the UK has yellow wind, rain and snow warnings that continue into Sunday.
In Scotland, people were urged not to travel unless absolutely necessary as Storm Bert continued to cause travel disruption across the country. Avanti West Coast cancelled its service between Edinburgh and Carlisle, and is not scheduled to resume the direct service until Sunday afternoon.
The M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire was shut because of strong winds, and part of the A66 in County Durham was closed both ways due to snow. It was also reported that traffic was at a standstill on the M80 near Castlecary, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.
Flights were disrupted at Newcastle airport as heavy snow hit the north-east with some arrivals being diverted to Belfast and Edinburgh.
Rail services were also affected, with the Conwy Valley line, which runs from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog, and the Heart of Wales lines, running from Swansea to Shropshire, due to remain closed on Sunday. Irish Ferries’ crossings between Pembroke Dock and Rosslare and Stena Line’s services between Fishguard and Rosslare were also cancelled.
Storm Bert also wreaked havoc with the domestic football calendar. Blackburn’s Championship clash against Portsmouth was cancelled, as were the League Two games Bradford v Accrington, Fleetwood’s v MK Dons and Salford v Bromley.
In Scotland, among the lower leagues, the only fixtures to survive the storm were the Scottish Championship match between Ayr and Dunfermline, and the League One clash between Montrose and Annan.
The Met Office has forecast heavy rain developing overnight and into Sunday for south-west and southern England, stretching from Oxford to Truro.
The yellow warning is in place until 11.45pm on Sunday and up to 70mm of rain could fall during this time. There is a chance that 100-150mm of rain could fall on some parts of Dartmoor, the national weather service said.
