Red weather warnings issued as 100mph winds head towards UK

The Guardian (UK): The Met Office has issued a rare red warning because of exceptionally strong winds that could reach 100mph in west Wales and north-west England.

It said that winds in areas affected by the warning, which means take action, will reach 80mph over a wide area on Wednesday and pose a risk of structural damage, bringing down trees and leading to loss of power supplies. Additionally, coastal areas could be hit by large waves.

Gale-force winds of up to 80mph are expected in southern Englan
d, creating an additional hazard for communities that have borne the worst of the flooding. The Met Office is also predicting a further spell of widespread rain, with a risk of 40mm on high ground of south Wales and south-west England, which it says will "exacerbate the current flooding situation"

Shipping in the Shannon sea area, south-west of Ireland, have been warned of hurricane force winds.

Amid intense criticism of the response to the flooding, David Cameron said on Tuesday that money was "no object" in tackling the crisis. But on Wednesday, the government sought to qualify the commitment, with the transport secretary, Patrick McLoughlin, insisting that there would be no blank cheque....

Storm damage in Aberstwyth, January 2014, shot by Ian Capper, Wikimedia Commons via Geograph UK,  under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license