UK weather: Red warning in place for third day as train operators urge people not to travel during Storm Babet

Storm Babet is continuing to batter the UK – with another red “danger to life” warning in place for parts of eastern Scotland and four severe flood warnings across England and Wales.

England, Wales and Northern Ireland have had warnings in place since Babet first hit on Wednesday, but eastern Scotland has suffered the worst of the storm which has left three people dead.

Train operators around the UK have advised customers not to travel due to widespread disruption following the storm.

London’s King Cross station has had to close due to overcrowding because of the “severe disruption” to the rail network caused by Storm Babet, the station has said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Read more: Full list of warnings – follow live storm updates

Meanwhile, thousands of households remain without power as the adverse conditions continue.

A rare red weather warning is in place for parts of eastern Scotland for a third day on Saturday, with the country’s First Minister Humza Yousaf to warn: “We have not seen the last of this.”

Mr Yousaf has also posted on X to urge people to heed the red weather warning and evacuate if instructed.

It comes as an amber warning for rain, meaning “extensive flooding to homes and businesses is possible”, is in place for parts of northeast Scotland covering Aberdeen and Cromarty.

The red warning is in place until 6pm.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency has issued three severe “risk to life” flood warnings around the River Derwent in Derbyshire.

They are the highest level of warning and are in place at Derby City Water Treatment Works, Little Chester, Eastgate and Cattle Market, as well as Racecourse Park at Chaddesden.

There were 282 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 220 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, across England as of 12 noon on Saturday.

The fourth severe flood warning has been issued for the River Severn at the village of Llandrinio, nearly Welshpool, in northern wales.

It also covers isolated properties in the Severn-Vyrnwy confluence area including Hendre Lane, Haughton and Haimwood.

Wales had eight further flood warnings in place as well as 14 flood alerts as of 12 noon on Saturday.

Sky News correspondent Frazer Maude has been in Catcliffe near Rotherham where dozens of homes have been evacuated due to flooding.

He said the water was chest deep in places.

Train operators urge people not to travel

National Rail has said King’s Cross station in London was closed because it had “become too crowded to be safe for all passengers”.

“The police have taken the decision to close the station until the passenger flow is more manageable. Where possible, please use a different London terminal station,” National Rail said.

It came after London North Eastern Railway (LNER), Avanti West Coast and Northern Rail have all warned against travelling as lines are widely flooded.

LNER has said there is “an extremely limited service” in place due to flooding between Doncaster and Wakefield.

The service has also been impacted by speed restrictions in Scotland and trains and crews being out of position after extensive disruption on Friday.

There are no LNER services north of Edinburgh on Saturday and rail replacement services are not available because of road closures.

The train operator said remaining services may be subject to short-notice cancellations.

Northern Rail said all lines between Cheadle Hulme and Wilmslow are blocked due to damage to the overhead electric wires.

Services are also not able to run from Sheffield to Nottingham or Lincoln due to flooding.

Trains are also unable to travel between Leeds and Doncaster, Harrogate and Bradford.

The line between Newcastle and Morpeth is also closed due to viaduct damage, Northern Rail added.

Avanti West Coast has said its services are also severely disrupted and it has asked customers to not travel between Crewe and North Wales and that people should only travel between Preston and Glasgow or Edinburgh if absolutely necessary.

Thousands still without power

The Energy Networks Association said around 100,000 customers had been affected by power cuts due to Storm Babet but as of Saturday morning 96% had been reconnected, leaving 4,000 still without power.

Around 55,000 people were left without power on Friday as a result of the storm.

Some 45,000 people were reconnected to the grid as of the evening, the Energy Networks Association said.

Babet leaves three people dead

A man in his 60s died after getting caught in fast-flowing flood water in the town of Cleobury Mortimer in Shropshire on Friday.

Police Scotland previously said a falling tree hit a van near Forfar in Angus on Thursday evening, killing the 56-year-old driver.

A 57-year-old woman also died on Thursday after being swept into a river in Angus.

The council in Angus said it was in uncharted territory dealing with “extreme and really challenging conditions” on Friday – with people rescued from 60 homes in and around Brechin.

The village of Edzell was completely cut off with no emergency access except via helicopter, the council said.

Meanwhile, a major search was under way following reports of a man trapped in a vehicle in floodwater in Aberdeenshire.

Police Scotland said the alarm was raised at 3am on Friday near the village of Marykirk.

It comes as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) warned a second major river could breach in the country on Saturday.

Aberdeenshire Council has said the latest SEPA modelling indicates a considerable risk of flooding on the River Don at Inverurie, Kemnay and Kintore between 10am and 2pm.

Hundreds of homes in Scotland have already been flooded after the River South Esk breached its banks

Leeds Bradford Airport has said it is “working hard to reopen” at 2pm today and has urged people not to travel to the terminal before that point. The airport closed on Friday after high winds forced a passenger plane to skid off a runway.

Tui customers who were due to travel from Leeds Bradford on Saturday are being directed to Manchester Airport, the airline has said.