Meteorologists are advising partygoers to Leeds Festival to protect their tents and drivers to be careful on the roads Storm Lilian is about to hit the north Wales regions and England.
Leeds Festival 2024 will be headlined by Lana Del Rey, Fred Again, Blink-182, Liam Gallagher, Catfish and The Bottlemen and Gerry Cinnamon at Bramham Park, but bad weather could ruin the weekend for festival-goers.
Gusts of up to 80 mph are expected, with travel disruptions, flooding, power outages and dangerous conditions near coastal areas. The Met Office issued two yellows weather warnings for rain in southwest Scotland and the Aberdeenshire coast from 9pm on Thursday until 9am on Friday.
There is a possibility that thunderwhile 20-30 mm of precipitation is expected widely across both areas with a chance of 40-50mm on higher ground. A yellow wind warning has also been issued covering northern England and North Wales from 5 a.m. to 11 a.m. Friday, with the storm expected to bring gusts of 50 to 60 mph to the region.
Met Office Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “The heavy rain is coming into Northern Ireland and it’s on its way now, and it will continue to move through the night, giving heavy rain across the central strip of the UK as it moves north and east. So it’s really during the latter part of the night, the early hours, when the winds pick up quite a bit in England and Wales and the sea squalls around the coasts and over the hills.
“The strongest winds are likely to start to develop in the early hours, initially over parts of north Wales, in the Liverpool and Blackpool area, and then across the Pennines and into eastern and north-eastern England, Yorkshire, and into Northumberland, before spreading out into the North Sea.”
Warning campers at Leeds Festival, Mr Dewhurst added: “The wind will pick up in that area overnight, particularly at dawn and then in the early morning, before easing off during the morning. So there could potentially be some impacts from those strong winds, of 50 to 60mph in the area, so it’s worth making sure your tents are secure.”
After the possibility of some heavy showers early on Saturday, settled conditions are set to develop across southern and eastern England and Wales, with sunny spells and dry conditions mixed in with the odd chance of scattered showers.
The north and northwest would continue to see “a fairly unsettled weekend” with several fronts moving through and bringing more persistent rain, particularly to parts of western Scotland and Northern Ireland, the forecaster said. Temperatures would reach highs of 21C on Saturday and Sunday and 23C on Monday in the southeast, slightly below average for the time of year.
A New Order concert scheduled to take place in Cardiff yesterday was cancelled, with organisers citing “high winds” and a forecast of poor weather. The RAC estimated that 19.2 million leisure car journeys would be made over the weekend, with 3.2 million on Friday alone. That is the highest number since the car services company began recording figures for the summer bank holiday in 2015.
RAC Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson said the adverse weather and high volume of expected travel represented “a perfect storm” for motorists. She said: “Anyone driving in areas impacted by Storm Lilian should try to avoid exposed coastlines and higher ground where there is a greater chance of fallen branches and trees. It is vital to slow down and leave plenty of extra stopping distance to allow time to react quickly.
“Drivers should grip the steering wheel firmly and take extra care when passing high-sided vehicles, which can cause an unnerving buffeting effect when you are suddenly hit by the wind from the other side.”
A Network Rail spokeswoman said: “We are closely monitoring the potential impact the storm could have on the rail network. We have teams on hand to implement appropriate measures if necessary to ensure we can continue to operate trains safely and as reliably as possible.”
Lilian is the 12th named storm of the season, the furthest away Met Office have been on the list since it was introduced and the first since April. Storms are named when they have the potential to cause disruption or damage that could result in an amber or red warning, the Met Office he said.
This is primarily based on the impacts of strong winds, but other types of weather will also be considered, including rain, if flood warnings are issued by national agencies, or snow.