Strong winds from Storm Ali has caused commotion to Birmingham and the West Midlands with fallen trees blocking roads, disturbing train services and gales forcing airlines to cancel flights. The Met Office says things are set to get a whole lot worse by the end of the week. There were also some power cuts causing school children to be sent home.
As the region took a pounding from Storm Ali on Wednesday, The Met Office said things are likely to get shoddier as the agency issued a yellow alert for the city on Thursday and Friday.
Numerous trees fell down on Wednesday as the storm bared its teeth, causing disruption to roads and rail and some flights to Dublin and Glasgow from Birmingham Airport were cancelled.
As Ali rolled in on Wednesday morning the Met Office updated its amber weather warning of wind, saying there would be a high probability of impacts across a band of the country which proved to be so.
The storm caused flights going to and from Glasgow and Dublin from Birmingham Airport to be cancelled due to the high winds.
Lunchtime flights between Dublin and Birmingham operated by Aer Lingus, Ethiad Airways and British Airways were all cancelled.
Virgin Atlantic, Flybe and Air France flights between Birmingham and Glasgow were also cancelled.
There was also disruption to rail services and West Midlands Railway said trees blocking several lines were causing some heavy delays as rush hour began.
High winds caused power cuts in the Redditch area and children at Matchborough First School were sent home early.
Tony Lovering, 60, was driving along Lawnswood Road at 1pm when an old beech tree fell across the road.
Tony said: “The tree missed me in the driver’s seat by about a foot.
“I was driving along when it fell in front of me. I slammed on the brakes but I couldn’t stop in time.”
Trees were falling down and blocking roads throughout Birmingham and the West Midlands.
Keeleigh said: “I didn’t see it collapse down just the traffic it cause as it was blocking the inside lane.”
In Dudley a tree blocked a road close to Dudley Zoo which was forced to close due to the high winds.
A statement on their website read: “Due to the adverse weather conditions, we have closed early today.
“Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience this may cause !”
