Storm brings Britain to all but a standstill

Winds of more than 100mph swept the country yesterday as Britain was all but brought to a standstill by one of the worst storms in living memory. The hurricane force winds accompanied by torrential rain and hail brought flooding to areas that had yet to be affected and fresh misery to those that had. The wind whipped up waves across the Somerset Levels where water levels have risen at least 12 inches in the past few days. The Met Office is forecasting that 70mm (2.75 inches) of rain will fall by Friday, the average rainfall for the entire month of February. The strongest gust of more than 108mph was recorded at Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula in north west Wales but conditions were hardly better further south.