Tropical storm brings floods (From The Westmorland Gazette)

Tropical storm brings floods

6:38pm Saturday 4th October 2008 in News By Gazette News Desk

TORRENTIAL downpours hit South Lakeland today, causing disruptive localised flooding.

The remnants of Tropical Storm Laura hit the west of Britain after becoming caught up in the high-altitude jet stream, which dragged the weather system eastwards.

The worst flooding appeared to be in Glebe Road, Windermere, which was closed both ways this afternoon.

The A65 close to Lupton Tower and the road between Old Hutton and Kirkby Lonsdale also suffered localised flooding, bringing traffic to a crawl, as the already saturated ground and overworked surface drains were unable to take the excess rainwater. Meanwhile, traffic was hampered on the M6 because of the hazardous driving conditions and poor visibility.

The stormy conditions, with gale force winds, were caused as the remains of Laura, in the form of hot, humid tropical air, clashed with the cold air over the Atlantic.

The Met Office warned people in the North West to prepare for up to 30mm of rain, although the Environment Agency did not issue any flood warnings for the weekend.