Britons were warned to stay indoors and strap down their Christmas decorations today as the Met Office issued a rare ‘danger to life’ red warning. 

Storm Darragh is sweeping in across the Atlantic, bringing with it 90mph winds and torrential downpours set to spark flooding and travel chaos in parts of Britain.

Meteorologists said a period of ‘extremely strong winds’ will develop during the early hours of tomorrow morning as the low pressure system moves across the Irish Sea.

The ‘significant disruption’ warning from 3am until 11am covers most of the coast of Wales including Cardiff and Swansea, as well as parts of Bristol and North Somerset.

Forecasters told residents to ‘stay indoors if you can’ and ‘avoid travelling by road during potentially dangerous conditions – it is not safe to drive in these conditions’.

Homeowners were urged to secure loose items outside their properties such as Christmas decorations, bins, garden furniture, trampolines, tents, sheds and fences.

The red alert, issued just after 10am today, also urged people to ‘consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items’.

Red warnings are a rare event, with the last one issued by the Met Office just under a year ago on January 21, 2024 for 99mph Storm Isha – and today is only the 19th time in records dating back to 2011 that a red warning has been imposed. 

Tomorrow, the Met Office said gusts of ’90mph or more’ are possible over the coasts and hills of West and South Wales, as well as funnelling through the Bristol Channel.

Exposed beaches could be struck by ‘very large waves’ amid the ‘damaging winds’, and forecasters told of ‘danger to life due to flying debris and falling trees’.

There could also be power cuts, mobile phone coverage outages and ‘damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down’.

In addition, the Met Office warned roads, bridges and railway lines could be closed along with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights.

The Met Office has also issued a 39-hour yellow wind warning for the whole of England, Wales and Northern Ireland and much of Scotland, from 3pm today until 6am on Sunday.

And an 18-hour amber wind warning along the UK’s west coast from South Ayrshire down to Cornwall, as well as in Northern Ireland, will run tomorrow from 3am to 9pm.

The deepening low pressure system will bring a ‘risk to life and property’, with Christmas events such as light shows, trails and markets axed across the country.

It comes after a very wet and windy day preceded the storm, with a ‘mini tornado’ striking Clayton in Staffordshire at 5pm yesterday – and residents saying it ripped up grass and roof tiles amid a ‘deafening sound’ that was ‘like a bomb going off’.

And a Loganair flight from Manchester to Aberdeen was forced to turn back after 30 minutes when lightning cracked the plane’s windshield at about 4.30pm yesterday.

Meanwhile bosses at Amsterdam Schiphol, one of Europe’s main airports, said they had cancelled more than 100 flights today due to strong winds caused by Darragh.

Motorists in the South West and North West of England were told to prepare for gale force winds, while some roads in Devon were deemed ‘impassable’ by flooding – and the Met Office warned gusts in London could be above 50mph tomorrow.

More than 160 areas were on flood watch after the Environment Agency issued 104 alerts and 20 warnings for England; Natural Resources Wales activated 32 alerts and five warnings; and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency had 11 alerts.

In Staffordshire, people living in Clayton near Newcastle-under-Lyme were now assessing the damage after the ‘mini tornado’ hit their neighbourhood and uprooted trees.

One resident on Clayton Lane told Stoke-on-Trent Live: ‘A mini tornado just came through Clayton, it ripped our grass up, ripped the roof tiles off our neighbour’s roof.

‘There’s fence panels everywhere, I’ve never seen anything like it, the sound was deafening. We don’t even know if our roof is ok yet.

‘All the neighbours were in the street assessing the damage. A friend said they could hear the intense sound from far away near Westbury Park – like a bomb going off. It lasted about 15 seconds.’

Around 30 minutes earlier about 100 miles north, a Loganair flight from Manchester to Aberdeen had to turn back after a lightning strike cracked the windshield.

The incident happened in the skies above Skipton in North Yorkshire at about 4.30pm, with the Embraer ERJ 145EU plane landing back to Manchester by around 5pm.

A spokesperson for Loganair said: ‘Loganair can confirm flight LM26 from Manchester to Aberdeen was diverted back to Manchester following a lightning strike.

‘The aircraft landed as normal and our team is currently arranging onward travel for customers to reach their final destination. The safety and wellbeing of our customers and crew is of the utmost importance to us at Loganair.

‘We thank our customers for their patience and understanding, and our ground crews for their assistance.’

Meanwhile a series of Christmas events this weekend were cancelled due to the forecast, including markets in towns such as Romsey, Hampshire; Taunton, Somerset; and Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire.

Elsewhere, the start of Bolton’s ‘Put Big Light On’ lights festival was postponed, and an ice sculpture trail in Darlington was also put back by a week.

Storm Darragh is the fourth storm to be named so far this season and the third in a fortnight – following on from Connall on November 27 and Bert on November 22.

The London Fire Brigade urged millions of people to secure loose objects outside their homes such as decorations, bins and furniture – and not to shelter under trees.

National Rail warned of possible train disruption in England and Wales, with a chance of speed restrictions being imposed on some routes as a safety precaution.

Rhondda Cynon Taf, where between 200 and 300 properties were flooded during Storm Bert last month, is set to be hit by heavy rain once again.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said the weather service is ‘a bit concerned’ about the risk of flooding in parts of Wales and Northern Ireland where there is ‘heightened sensitivity’ due to recent heavy rainfall.

Mr Stroud added: ‘The wind particularly is set to be reasonably disruptive and potentially quite damaging.

‘We are rather concerned about the strength of the winds affecting the Irish sea coasts and this is likely to have impacts on Irish ferry services. Trees could come down onto roads and people need to be aware of this and allow extra time for travel, especially in rural spots.’

Strong gusts are forecast to batter the country and the Met Office said the wind may cause disruption to travel, with difficult driving conditions likely.

Meteorologists warned that flying debris could cause injury or danger to life.

National Highways, which runs the UK’s motorways and busiest A-roads, has issued a severe weather alert for tomorrow and has warned motorists in the South West and North West to prepare for gale force winds.

It said routes likely to be affected by the strongest winds include the M5 in northern Somerset, the A30 in Cornwall and the M6 in Cheshire.

Severe winds are already affecting travel in parts of the country with the M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire closed last night because of gusty weather.

Storm Darragh is due to cross Ireland late today, then parts of England and Wales tomorrow, clearing to the east of England on Saturday night or early Sunday.

The Environment Agency said it was carefully monitoring the progress of the storm ahead of the weekend.

Katharine Smith, its flood duty manager said: ‘EA teams are out on the ground and will support local authorities in responding to surface water flooding.

‘We urge people not to drive though flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car.’

The storm names are compiled jointly between Met Éireann, the Met Office and KNMI, the Dutch national weather forecasting service.

In the Netherlands, Amsterdam Schiphol Airport cancelled more than 100 flights due to the strong winds – with other flights delayed, some up to an hour.

‘Due to strong winds caused by Storm Darragh, fewer flights are expected to take off and land Friday 6 December,’ a spokesman said, urging passengers to take delays and cancellations into account today.

Met Office chief forecaster Jason Kelly said: ‘The worst impacts from Storm Darragh will be felt as we go through the early hours of tomorrow morning and throughout Saturday with, in addition to the broad yellow warning, red and amber wind warnings in place from 1am tomorrow.

‘In the red warning area, we could see wind gusts of up to 90 miles per hour along the coasts of west and south Wales as well as funnelling through the Bristol Channel, with some very large waves on exposed beaches.

‘Although there is a lower likelihood of impacts outside of the red and amber warning areas this doesn’t mean you won’t see them.

‘We are likely to see impacts across the whole of the country and people should keep an eye on the latest forecast details and prepare for the bad weather, especially if planning to be out and about on Saturday.

‘Some areas are likely to have a relatively quiet start to Saturday, weather-wise, but winds will quickly increase from the west through the day.’

Drivers are encouraged to postpone journeys and park well away from large trees.

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: ‘A red weather warning is highly unusual and should be heeded as it can indicate a risk to life.

‘With parts of Wales and the South West set to be battered by the wind between 3am and 11am on Saturday, we strongly advise drivers to postpone their journeys if they can.

‘Anyone who must drive should stick to major roads, reduce their speed significantly, always keep a firm grip of the steering wheel and be on high alert for debris in the road.

‘Exposed rural and coastal routes will be particularly treacherous. Drivers in these areas should be wary of any high-sided vehicles as they are at risk of being buffeted off course or, worse still, blown over.

‘We also suggest parking well away from large trees due to the danger of falling branches or whole trees being uprooted.’

Dale Hipkiss, Duty Manager at National Highways, said: ‘If you’re planning to drive over the next few days, prepare in advance for the journey and take extra care on the roads. If weather conditions become challenging, adjust your driving behaviour to manage the conditions as safely as possible.

‘It’s also a good idea for drivers to check their vehicles, such as tyres, coolant and oil levels, before heading out to reduce the risk of breakdowns.’