Violent storm to hit Suffolk at weekend - could Orwell Bridge be forced to close? / Orwell Bridge set to close for 15 HOURS on Sunday


Storm Ciara is heading to Suffolk this weekend. Picture: MICK WEBB

Storm Ciara will bring strong winds to Suffolk this weekend and into early next week - with Highways England confirming speeds could exceed the 50mph threshold and cause the Orwell Bridge to close.


Highways England have already announced they are closing the Orwell Bridge for a mammoth 15 hours on Sunday as wind speeds are expected to well exceed the safety threshold of 50mph.


A14 Orwell Bridge Update for this weekend - we've had an updated forecast which shows strong winds from early Sunday morning to mid-afternoon Sunday. We're continuing to monitor but currently that is the risk period forecasts show going over threshold.

A yellow weather warning for high winds has been put in place by the Met Office, which will last from 6pm on Saturday to midnight on Sunday. 

Highest speeds of up to 70mph are predicted for parts of Suffolk on Sunday afternoon - which according to the Beaufort scale is classed as a "violent storm". 
Adam Dury, a forecaster at Weatherquest, said wind speeds will start to increase on Saturday night, with gusts of 40-50mph. 
Speeds will then slightly decrease overnight but will pick up on Sunday afternoon, with Mr Dury confirming gusts of around 60-70mph.

He said: "The strongest winds will be on Sunday afternoon, but it is likely Suffolk could see 50mph winds again throughout Monday and Tuesday."
Suffolk residents are advised to expect some delays to road and rail transport, as well as spray and large waves in coastal areas.
There is also a slight chance of some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs.
If the wind speeds do hit predicted speeds, a decision will be made by Highways England to close the Orwell Bridge.
The Orwell Bridge typically closes to all traffic if wind gusts of 50mph are predicted to a high degree of certainty in a non-favourable direction - although it has been closed in lower wind speeds.
Highways England has confirmed it will be monitoring the weather closely in the lead up to the weekend and throughout.
In a tweet, it said: "We've had an updated forecast which shows strong winds from early Sunday morning to mid-afternoon Sunday. 
"We're continuing to monitor but currently that is the risk as period forecasts show going over threshold."


Orwell Bridge update for Sunday 09/02/2020 - current forecasts are indicating the wind will breach our thresholds at 3am and will continue until 6pm Sunday. We are currently planning to close the bridge between this period subject to forecast changes.


HIGHWAYS ENGLAND UPDATES
Breaking News

Here is the latest information on the Breaking News



Road users who are wishing to use any part of the Highways England Network across the country are being advised to check the weather forecast and road conditions before they travel today (Saturday 8th) and tomorrow (Sunday 9th February) as strong winds are forecast until at least 20:00 on Sunday. 
Highways England is working closely with the Met Office in monitoring the weather conditions. As a result of the forecast, we have issued a Severe Weather Alert for gales across the entire Highways England network covering ALL regions. 

The severe warning will be in affect from 08:00 09/02/2020 until 20:00 09/02/2020.

Road users are advised to take extra care when travelling, to allow plenty of extra time to complete your journey and to consider whether your journey is necessary before setting out, by first checking the latest forecast and road conditions. 

Up-to-date information on road conditions on England's motorways and major trunk roads is available on our website at http://www.trafficengland.com/ or by calling our 24/7 Customer Contact Centre on 03001235000. For information on weather conditions across the country, also visit the Met Office website www.metoffice.gov.uk.

Last updated on: 08/02/2020 11:34

https://www.ipswichstar.co.uk/news/storm-ciara-suffolk-70mph-storm-orwell-bridge-closure-1-6502249

Felixstowe
Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, IP11
Today     Thu 6 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 1hCloudPress.
19:00
SSE6 mphto7 mph5 °C0 mm
0 %1030 mb
20:00
SSE6 mphto8 mph5 °C0 mm
0 %1029 mb
21:00
SSE7 mphto9 mph6 °C0 mm
0 %1029 mb
22:00
SSE7 mphto10 mph6 °C0 mm
0 %1029 mb
23:00
SSE7 mphto9 mph6 °C0 mm
0 %1028 mb
   ▲07:27   ▼16:51
Tomorrow     Fri 7 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
SSE8 mphto10 mph6 °C0 mm
0 %1028 mb
03:00
SSE12 mphto16 mph6 °C0 mm
0 %1026 mb
06:00
SE14 mphto21 mph6 °C0 mm
0 %1025 mb
09:00
SSE17 mphto24 mph6 °C0 mm
0 %1023 mb
12:00
SSE18 mphto25 mph7 °C0 mm
4 %1020 mb
15:00
S20 mphto26 mph7 °C0 mm
99 %1018 mb
18:00
S17 mphto30 mph7 °C0 mm
100 %1016 mb
21:00
S17 mphto29 mph7 °C0 mm
84 %1014 mb
   ▲07:25   ▼16:52
Sat 8 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
S21 mphto33 mph8 °C0 mm
100 %1013 mb
03:00
SSW21 mphto33 mph9 °C0.5 mm
100 %1012 mb
06:00
W17 mphto31 mph7 °C0 mm
69 %1014 mb
09:00
WSW12 mphto21 mph6 °C0 mm
99 %1017 mb
12:00
WSW12 mphto15 mph8 °C0 mm
100 %1018 mb
15:00
SSW13 mphto18 mph8 °C0 mm
1 %1017 mb
18:00
SSW16 mphto29 mph7 °C0 mm
0 %1018 mb
21:00
SSW23 mphto37 mph7 °C0 mm
88 %1016 mb
   ▲07:23   ▼16:54
Sun 9 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
SSW26 mphto41 mph8 °C0 mm
99 %1014 mb
03:00
SSW30 mphto46 mph8 °C0.3 mm
100 %1011 mb
06:00
SSW37 mphto53 mph8 °C0.9 mm
100 %1005 mb
09:00
SSW41 mphto61 mph9 °C0.9 mm
100 %1000 mb
12:00
SSW44 mphto67 mph11 °C3 mm
100 %994 mb
15:00
SW46 mphto71 mph12 °C3.3 mm
98 %988 mb
18:00
WSW29 mphto53 mph11 °C0.2 mm
71 %988 mb
21:00
WSW24 mphto49 mph9 °C0.2 mm
68 %988 mb
   ▲07:22   ▼16:56
Mon 10 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
WSW29 mphto51 mph9 °C0.3 mm
68 %987 mb
03:00
W30 mphto48 mph8 °C0.1 mm
80 %990 mb
06:00
W29 mphto44 mph6 °C0.1 mm
60 %993 mb
09:00
W31 mphto47 mph6 °C0 mm
39 %999 mb
12:00
W32 mphto47 mph7 °C0.1 mm
76 %1002 mb
15:00
WSW30 mphto38 mph7 °C0.7 mm
97 %1000 mb
18:00
WSW28 mphto46 mph7 °C1.4 mm
97 %998 mb
21:00
WNW20 mphto32 mph4 °C0.1 cm
77 %1000 mb
   ▲07:20   ▼16:58
 = Snow
Tue 11 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
W25 mphto39 mph3 °C0 mm
37 %1003 mb
03:00
W28 mphto45 mph3 °C0 mm
6 %1004 mb
06:00
W28 mphto45 mph3 °C0 mm
0 %1006 mb
09:00
W29 mphto45 mph4 °C0 mm
1 %1007 mb
12:00
W31 mphto46 mph6 °C0.1 cm
58 %1009 mb
15:00
W28 mphto41 mph6 °C0 mm
7 %1010 mb
18:00
W25 mphto41 mph4 °C0 mm
4 %1011 mb
21:00
W26 mphto40 mph4 °C0 mm
19 %1013 mb
   ▲07:18   ▼17:00
 = Snow
Wed 12 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
W25 mphto40 mph3 °C0 mm
0 %1014 mb
03:00
W24 mphto39 mph3 °C0 mm
0 %1013 mb
06:00
W23 mphto37 mph2 °C0 mm
0 %1014 mb
09:00
W23 mphto35 mph3 °C0 mm
0 %1016 mb
12:00
W23 mphto32 mph6 °C0 mm
33 %1016 mb
15:00
W21 mphto31 mph6 °C0 mm
70 %1016 mb
18:00
WSW17 mphto30 mph5 °C0 mm
40 %1016 mb
21:00
WSW21 mphto33 mph5 °C0 mm
100 %1015 mb
   ▲07:16   ▼17:02
Thu 13 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
SW23 mphto37 mph6 °C1.5 mm
100 %1012 mb
03:00
SW24 mphto38 mph6 °C0.6 mm
100 %1008 mb
06:00
SW32 mphto47 mph7 °C2.1 mm
100 %1003 mb
09:00
SW32 mphto48 mph7 °C2.6 mm
100 %1001 mb
12:00
W16 mphto28 mph7 °C0.8 mm
100 %998 mb
15:00
WSW20 mphto32 mph7 °C0.4 mm
95 %997 mb
18:00
WSW23 mphto35 mph5 °C0 mm
16 %998 mb
21:00
WSW21 mphto32 mph4 °C0 mm
93 %999 mb
   ▲07:14   ▼17:04
Fri 14 Feb GMT
HourWindAvg.GustTemp.Rain 3hCloudPress.
00:00
SW21 mphto35 mph5 °C0.5 mm
100 %997 mb
03:00
SSW20 mphto26 mph5 °C6.9 mm
100 %990 mb
06:00
SSE22 mphto39 mph7 °C0.6 mm
100 %979 mb

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