Storm Chandra latest: Schools closed and travel chaos at Met Office issues weather alerts across UK
Strong winds and heavy rains hit much of the UK, while Storm Chandra caused travel disruption and school closures.
Nearly 250 schools were closed in Northern Ireland today due to “severe weather conditions”, while the Met Office warned that strong winds could send debris flying, putting people at risk of injury and posing a “danger to life”.
The M48 Severn Bridge was closed to high-sided vehicles with the Humber Bridge closed to high-sided vehicles due to winds on Tuesday morning, while snow was also expected in parts of the country as a number of weather warnings came into force.
National Rail has warned that “bad weather conditions may affect South Western Rail services until the end of the day”, with traffic between England and Wales being diverted via the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge.
A yellow wind warning is in effect on the east coast of Northern Ireland from 5am to 9pm on Tuesday; There will also be a yellow rain and wind warning for the whole of Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
Forecasters are expecting further showers in the south-west of England, where Storm Ingrid caused damage and washed away part of the historic pier at the weekend.
Where are weather warnings issued?
Several weather warnings were in force on Tuesday, including yellow warnings for rain and wind for the south-west of England and the east coast of Northern Ireland respectively.
The Met Office stated that winds blowing at 60-70 mph will affect the east of Northern Ireland, while coastal areas will likely be affected by winds of around 75 mph, adding that “winds of this strength coming from the east are unusual and are likely to be effective.”
A yellow wind warning is in effect on the east coast of Northern Ireland from 5am to 9pm on Tuesday; There will also be a yellow rain and wind warning for the whole of Northern Ireland on Tuesday.
Forecasters are expecting further showers in the south-west of England, where Storm Ingrid caused damage and washed away part of the historic pier at the weekend.
A yellow rain warning is in place for south Devon, much of Dorset, south Somerset and south-east Cornwall until 9am on Tuesday; here 30-50mm of rain may fall widely, with up to 60-80mm on the higher elevations of south Dartmoor.
Less severe yellow warnings are in place for a wider area of southern England, as well as parts of northern England and Scotland.
The yellow warning for wind covers Cornwall, south-west Wales and parts of north Devon from 5am to 4pm on Tuesday, while an additional yellow wind warning will be in force for south-west Scotland from 5am to midnight on Tuesday.
Yellow warnings for rain and snow have also been issued for the Pennines and south-west Scotland from midnight to 5pm on Tuesday; Here, 2-5 cm of snow may fall over a wide area, and up to 10-20 cm of snow may accumulate at higher elevations.
There is another yellow warning for rain and snow across much of central Scotland from 6am until midnight on Tuesday.
A yellow warning for rain will be in place for much of south-east England from midnight to midday on Tuesday, and for south-west England and south and central Wales from 1pm on Monday until 10am on Tuesday.
Holly Evans27 January 2026 07:45
