Supertides To Hit Britain

The rare phenomenon of alignment of sun, earth, and moon will result in supertides that will flood Britain.

17:55 02 September 2015

Rare supertides cause by rare phenomenon of alignment of sun, earth, and moon have triggered flood alerts across Britain. 10 flood warnings and 44 flood alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency, mainly in coastal areas. Most at risk parts of the River Wye estuary in Monmouthshire and Gloucestershire, and north-east of England.

 

A spokesman said: "High tides will peak on Tuesday bringing a risk of minor localised flooding around the Wye estuary in Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire, along with parts of the Yorkshire coast.

 

"Localised disruption to travel and some flooding of low-lying land and individual properties is possible.

 

"We urge people to take care near coastal paths and promenades and not to drive through flood water."

 

"The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation closely alongside the Met Office and will issue further flood updates and warnings if required."

 

Meanwhile, the Met Office has defended its inaccurate predictions for a hot, dry summer.

 

Chief scientist Professor Dame Julia Slingo said: "No-one can deny that we have had a pretty disappointing summer with a lot of unsettled weather and only a few warm spells, especially through July and August.

 

"Seasonal forecasts for this summer suggested that temperatures and rainfall would be near normal. However, as the season progressed all the leading models around the world failed to capture the signal for unsettled weather over the UK.