Engineers from Electricity North West are on standby after the Met Office named the first storm this winter, Storm Ashley.
A yellow weather warning is in place on Sunday as forecasters are predicting strong winds across Cumbria.
Electricity North West is putting plans in place to monitor the network and ensure supplies and teams are available to respond if the storm causes damage to overhead lines.
Richard Moulton, incident manager for Electricity North West, said: “We’ve been monitoring the weather for several days and started to plan ahead of Storm Ashley being named.
“The forecast is for extremely strong winds across Cumbria and surrounding areas. Our local teams are on standby and ready to respond quickly to support our customers.
“We’re encouraging customers who may benefit from extra support to make sure they’re signed up to our free Extra Care Register and check our website and social media channels for updates.”
Storm Ashley is the first named storm of winter after last year brought a record-breaking 12 named storms.
Richard Moulton added: “Our preparations for bad weather never stop. Our teams of tree cutters work year-round engaging with landowners for permission to cut back trees from overhead lines to reduce the chance of swaying branches causing power cuts in stormy weather.
“While we do as much as we can, falling trees and other debris can still cause damage to the network. If people do see damage to the power network because of Storm Ashley, firstly they must stay away from the equipment as it could still be live and then immediately call us on 105 to report and to allow us to make the area safe.”
As part of the yellow weather warning, experts from the Met Office say that people should expect fallen trees and that there is a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.
People are asked to stay away from beaches, promenades, coastal footpaths and roads as large waves and sea spray could be dangerous. Don’t put yourself or others at risk.
Flood alerts are in place for:
Coast at Barrow
Highest tide level is expected to be at 1.30am tomorrow, October 20. Flooding is possible several hours either side of this time. Further Flood Alerts are likely to be issued for each high tide until Monday, due to a combination of spring tides, strong wind and low pressure associated with Storm Ashley.
Stay away from beaches, promenades, coastal footpaths and roads as large waves and sea spray could be dangerous.
North Morecambe Bay
Flooding of roads, footpaths and low lying land is possible.
High tide levels are expected at North Morecambe Bay from Roosebeck to Carnforth including low lying areas around Ulverston, Greenodd, Haverthwaite, Flookburgh, Grange-over-Sands, Levens, Milnthorpe, Sandside, Arnside and Silverdale at 1.30am tomorrow, with flooding of roads and low lying land possible several hours either side of this time.
Further Flood Alerts are likely to be issued for each high tide until Monday, due to a combination of spring tides, strong wind and low pressure.
Flood gates at Arnside promenade are closed and these will remain closed until Monday.
Flood alert area: Coast at North Morecambe Bay from Roosebeck to Carnforth including low lying areas around Ulverston, Greenodd, Haverthwaite, Flookburgh, Grange-over-Sands, Levens, Milnthorpe, Sandside, Arnside and Silverdale.
Coast from Gretna to Silloth
Flooding of roads and low lying land is possible.
High tide levels are expected on Coastline from Gretna to Silloth at 1.45am tomorrow, October 20, with flooding of roads and low lying land possible several hours either side of this time.
Further flood alerts are likely to be issued for some high tides until Monday, October 21, due to a combination of spring tides, strong wind and low pressure.
Flood gates at Skinburness Marsh have been closed.
Flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, have been removed from:
- Coastline at Barrow, around Biggar, Rampside and Vickerstown
- North Morecambe Bay, along the coast from Roosebeck to Carnforth
- Coastline from Gretna to Silloth including Port Carlisle, Skinburness and Rockcliffe
- Coast at Duddon Estuary
Yellow weather warning
A windy period is expected across the whole of the UK on Sunday and into Monday, but across parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, North West England and North West Wales there is an increased chance of some disruption.
Initially a period of strong south to south easterly winds will likely develop through Sunday morning, with gusts of 50mph to 60mph possible in some inland areas, especially Northern Ireland and western Scotland, and perhaps up to 60mph to 70mph along exposed coasts and hills.
Winds will then likely turn south westerly, with a period of especially strong winds possible during Sunday afternoon and evening in western Scotland where gusts could potentially reach 70mph to 80mph in exposed areas, and more generally 55mph to 65mph in other parts of the warning area.
The strong winds in conjunction with high spring tides may cause some disruption.
