Storm Ciaran: Record-Breaking Storm Batters Channel Islands With 104mph Gusts - As Southern England Hit By Flooding

Record-breaking Storm Ciaran has battered the UK, the Channel Islands, and parts of Northern Europe, leaving behind a trail of death, destruction and transport delays.

The Channel Islands and Northern France bore the brunt of the storm, with 104mph winds recorded in Jersey.

The Channel Islands also saw rare hurricane-force 12 winds - the highest measure on the Beaufort scale - while gusts of up to 119mph (193km/h) were recorded in parts of coastal Brittany.

In the UK, the south of England saw the worst of Storm Ciaran, with winds of up to 85mph battering coastal areas of Kent, and flooding across parts of Hampshire, Sussex, Devon, and Cornwall.

And the storm is still yet to cause disruption to parts of north-eastern England, as it barrels up the east coast towards Scotland.

The Environment Agency says there are 82 flood warnings and 203 flood alerts still in place across England.

While there have been no deaths recorded in the UK, a truck driver died in France's Aisne region, northeast of Paris, when a tree fell on his vehicle.

At least 16 people, including seven firefighters, were also injured in the storm, according to French media. A man was also killed in the Netherlands after a tree fell on him amid the storm.

However, there was major disruption to the UK's travel network throughout Thursday, with ferries cancelled, roads flooded, and bridges closed over concerns about high winds.

Hundreds of schools closed in Hampshire, Southampton, the Isle of Wight and across Devon and Cornwall due to the storm on Thursday, while all schools have closed on the island of Jersey.

The Met Office said on Thursday that Storm Ciaran had set a new record for the lowest mean sea level pressure recorded in England and Wales in November.

Sky News's weather producer, Joanna Robinson, said:

"That low pressure meant the boiling point of water was down a degree or so, and you may have noticed that your kettle boiled a little quicker."

On the storm, she said:

"As with most low-pressure systems, the strongest winds were on its southern flank, mainly affecting the English Channel, the Channel Islands and northwest France, where there has been significant damage and disruption.

"Local agencies say gusts up to around 124mph have been reported in northwest France, 104mph in Jersey and 78mph at Langdon Bay in England.

"Earlier in the week, some computer models had Storm Ciaran tracking further north by around 100 miles.

"If that had happened, it would have taken the damaging winds across more of southern England, which was fortunately spared the worst on this occasion.

"That said, Ciaran has brought plenty of rain to ground already saturated after a very wet October."

Forecasters had warned of the impact of Storm Ciaran before its arrival, with a red weather warning put in place by the Jersey Met Office.

When the storm did hit, dozens of people were forced to take refuge in a hotel after their homes were damaged by winds of over 100mph.

Three people were also taken to hospital.

In the UK, a major incident was put in place for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

Firefighters in the area rescued several people from cars stuck in flood water.

The AA said its mechanics rang paramedics to help a driver suspected of suffering from hypothermia after their car became stuck in flood water on a rural road in the Newbury area.

In Cornwall, a powerline came down in Chacewater and the county council said more than 10,000 homes were left without power due to the storm.

The River Clyde burst its banks near Exeter, flooding nearby fields.

A number of train services were delayed due to fallen trees, while, as seems almost customary in UK storms, a trampoline had to be removed from train tracks after blowing from a nearby garden.

Southern Railway urged people to work from home due to the possiblity of major delays.

On the roads, several major bridges were closed, including the M48 Severn Bridge, the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge near Dartford, The Sheppey and Medway crossings in Kent, the bridge over the River Hamble on the M27 and Southampton's Itchen bridge.

Condor Ferries cancelled its freight and passenger routes between the Channel Islands and the UK on Wednesday and Thursday, while DFDS and P&O Ferries also suspended their services due to the high winds.

Jersey Airport, the main transport hub to the Channel Islands, closed on Thursday due to the storm, while in Europe, Dutch airline KLM scrapped all flights until the end of Thursday due to high winds in the Netherlands.

The Met Office had issued amber weather warnings for the South West and south coast of England for Thursday.

Overlapping yellow warnings for wind and rain, which cover the entire south of England, and parts of the Midlands and Wales, remain in place for both areas until midnight.

A separate yellow warning for rain is in place for the North East of England and eastern Scotland until 6am on Friday.

There is also a yellow warning for rain for Saturday covering coastal areas of South East England, stretching from Hampshire, across East and West Sussex, and into Kent.

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