People warned away from seafront as storm hits the Welsh coast

People wanting to witness huge waves crashing against the seafront in Porthcawl have been warned away from the seaside resort.

The location which is a popular spot for photographers and sightseers, has been battered with high winds from Storm Darragh as a rare red alert took effect in places across parts of Wales.

However, many people were witnessed on the pier at Porthcawl on Saturday morning while the red alert was still in place, dangerously close to high waves that were crashing against the seafront.

The RNLI in the town, which operates a YouTube live cam which is mounted on the lifeboat station, urged people to stay away from the seafront pier and instead watch the live cam from the comfort and safety of their own homes.

It’s believed the pier has had to be cleared several times today from those venturing down to the town.

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The warning from the RNLI comes as gusts of 93mph have been recorded in Wales as Storm Darragh hit.

Millions of people have been warned to stay indoors, thousands are without power, and trains have been cancelled as the Government’s “risk to life” alert came into force.

The emergency alert came into effect at 1am on Saturday and was sent to people within the area covered by the Met Office’s rare red warning for wind in parts of Wales and south-west England.

It was the largest use of the warning system yet, with the alert urging residents to avoid driving and to “stay indoors if you can”.

The Met Office confirmed to the PA news agency that wind gusts of up to 93mph were recorded overnight in Capel Curig in North Wales, with 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula.

Winds in other parts of Wales topped 80mph, while gusts of up to 77mph were recorded in Northern Ireland and south-west England, the forecaster said.

Watch #StormDarragh LIVE safely from home on our cam https://t.co/eYgwRVi0u3

Stay well back from stormy wintery seas, cliff edges, sea walls and piers

In a coastal emergency dial 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard pic.twitter.com/M6onxPEm8C

— Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat (@PorthcawlRNLI) December 6, 2024

Tom Morgan of the Met Office said that as of 7am the storm was at its peak, but higher wind speed totals are “possible” later in the morning.

The centre of the storm, meaning winds are calmer, was across north-east England.

Thousands of people in Northern Ireland, England and Wales were left without power.

The Energy Networks Association said around 86,000 homes in England, Scotland and Wales were without power as of 9am.

A spokesperson said around 385,000 customers were reconnected overnight, with more than 1,000 engineers ready to be deployed.

National Grid said that as of 8am more than 55,000 customers were off supply across the South West, south Wales and the west Midlands due to Storm Darragh.

It said the majority of these were in south Wales.

Meanwhile, around 376,000 customers have had their power restored by its teams since the start of the storm.

National Highways said both the Prince of Wales Bridge, M4 and the Severn Bridge, M48, which connect south-west England to Wales were closed because of strong winds.

Network Rail Wales said owing to a fallen tree, all train services on the North Wales Coast Line are suspended until further notice.

A separate amber warning covering a larger stretch of the west coast of the UK, stretching from southern Scotland to Cornwall, and Northern Ireland is in place from 1am until 9pm.

An amber warning for rain is in place in Wales from 3am to 6pm on Saturday with heavy rain likely to lead to disruption to transport and infrastructure.

A yellow warning for rain is in place for Northern Ireland and Wales, both of which were badly affected by flooding during Storm Bert, as well as parts of Scotland from 3pm on Friday until noon on Saturday.

The Met Office said periods of heavy rain in south and mid-Wales through Saturday are likely to see 20-30mm fall in three to six hours.

Totals of 80-90mm are possible by the evening, which is about half a month’s worth of rain in one day, the Met Office said.

The Met Office said 55mm of rain fell in parts of Cumbria since Friday afternoon, while 44mm was seen in south Wales.

National Rail said the storm was likely to affect services across the whole network as it warned people to check their journey in full before travelling as it may mean the last services of the day are cancelled.

Yellow wind warnings will be in place across much of the UK, including London and the South East, on Sunday.