Storm Katie diverts UK flights

Storm Katie has seen winds of more than 70mph battering England and Wales, with several flights diverted from Gatwick Airport and major bridges closed.

The Met Office issued an amber warning for winds for London and the South East with a yellow alert for the east and south-west of England and south Wales.

Several fights had to be diverted away from Gatwick Airport. Photo: Gatwick Airport/ BBC

The Dartford River Crossing, M48 Severn Bridge and the Sheppey Crossing have all been closed, Highways England said.

More than 20 flights heading to Gatwick had to be diverted to other airports.

#StormKatie: more than 20 flights arriving at #Gatwick Airport have had to be diverted due to severe gales - gusts of 50-65mph in #London.

— Paul Smith (@Journo_Paul) March 28, 2016

The planes diverted from Gatwick had all been due to land at the Sussex airport after midnight. Other flights have been delayed.

reddit: https://t.co/rQT46MeLpp UK weather: Storm Katie causes delays at Gatwick and major road closures via /r/ImABlue

— weather (@imtheweatherguy) March 28, 2016

By 05:00 Gatwick said 16 flights had been cancelled and 24 diverted to other destinations because of the stormy weather.

The flights were diverted to airports including Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands.

Some of the flights had made aborted attempts to land at Gatwick.

Twitter user @michelegrant wrote: "Truly thankful to be on the ground in Stansted after terrifying failed attempts to land at Gatwick in #StormKatie."

BBC weather forecaster Nick Miller said southern England was set to bear the brunt of Storm Katie. Photo: BBC

Another passenger, Simon Quinton, tweeted: "Glad it's a bank holiday. Delayed #Gatwick flight aborted at landing due to weather and now @ East Midlands airport at 2.45am. Urgh."

The Met Office tweeted that gusts of 77mph had been recorded in the South West at Berry Head and at the Needles off the Isle of Wight.

BBC weather forecaster Nick Miller said: "It is particularly southern parts of England bearing the brunt of Storm Katie but also into parts of East Anglia as well, with these potentially damaging and disruptive gusts of wind of 60 to 70 miles per hour - but possibly more in the most exposed areas.

"It won't be until Easter Monday afternoon before things gradually improve across parts of eastern England."

The Met Office's amber warning for the south east of England said: "Very strong southerly winds will develop across southern England from the early hours of Monday, eventually veering westerly before clearing by late morning.

"The risk of disruption looks to be highest across parts of the south east from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight eastwards to Sussex, Surrey and Kent. Gusts of 60 to 70 mph are likely at times, particularly along the south coast."

Highways England said the QE2 Bridge, the southbound crossing over the River Thames at Dartford, had been closed overnight because of the winds, with vehicles being diverted through the tunnel that usually serves northbound traffic.

The M48 Severn Crossing, which connects England and Wales, has been closed in both directions. Road users were advised to use the M4 crossing instead.

The A249 Sheppey Crossing in Kent has also been closed in both directions on Monday morning, with drivers advised to use the old Sheppey Crossing.

London hit by stormy weather on Sunday. Photo: BBC

The A38 Tamar Bridge in Cornwall was closed to high-sided vehicles but restrictions were lifted at about 02:30 BST.

Highways England warned road users across the South West, South East and Eastern regions to check the weather forecast and road conditions before travelling on Monday - particularly if using "vulnerable vehicles" such as motorbikes, caravans and high-sided vehicles.