THE end of Storm Darragh is finally in sight after strong winds, torrential rain and floods left two dead in a weekend of carnage.
The Met Office said more settled but cooler conditions will greet much of the UK this week as the clean-up operation gets under way.
A tractor makes its way through a flooded road near Ingatestone, Essex[/caption]
A field flooded after the River Severn burst its banks in Worcester[/caption]
Flooding in York this morning in the aftermath of Storm Darragh[/caption]
Winds will gradually ease with noticeably less rainfall by Wednesday but temperatures will stay in the single figures, the forecaster added.
The fourth named storm of the season brought strong gusts to many parts of the country over the weekend with millions warned to stay indoors.
Two men were killed by falling trees hitting their vehicles on Saturday.
The Energy Networks Association said around 118,000 customers were still without power on Sunday evening.
Train services remain disrupted with several lines closed due to fallen trees and debris.
Passengers were warned to expect cancellations and delays to train services on the West Coast Main Line between London Euston and Scotland early on Monday.
Great Western Railway said passengers should “not attempt to travel” between Swansea and Carmarthen until at least noon, or on the Looe, St Ives and Gunnislake branch lines in Cornwall until at least 11am on Monday.
Transport for Wales said all railway lines were blocked on 11 routes, such as between Swansea and Milford Haven, between Swansea and Shrewsbury, between Birmingham International and Shrewsbury, and between Chester and Holyhead.
Chris Baughan, Network Rail‘s West Coast South route operations manager, said: “Storm Darragh has wreaked havoc on the railway this weekend and we are very sorry to passengers for the disruption to train services this morning on the West Coast Main Line as frontline teams continue with emergency repairs and the clean-up.”
The highest wind gusts were 96mph recorded at Berry Head in Devon on Saturday.
Met Office meteorologist Liam Eslick said: “Storm Darragh has now moved its way off towards the south east so things are going to start to settle down over the next couple of days.
“But it is still going to remain quite blustery especially for south and south east of England, for the next day at least.”
Cloud towards the south east will bring the chance of localised, potentially heavy showers but these should move through quickly, Mr Eslick said.
Much of the rest of the country further north will see calmer winds and plenty of sunshine due to an area of high pressure moving in.
UK 5 day weather forecast
Today:
Southern England and Wales will stay fairly cloudy and breezy tomorrow with some more blustery showers developing.
Elsewhere frost and any fog clearing to leave calmer conditions, with plenty of sunny spells but feeling chilly.
Tonight:
Staying cloudy in the south with coastal showers in the southeast. Fog and frost developing under clearer skies in the north.
Tuesday:
Showers becoming confined to the far south and remaining cloudy.
Frost and fog persisting through the morning across Northern Ireland and Scotland but sunny elsewhere.
Outlook for Wednesday to Friday:
Blustery showers dying out in the south, as high pressure gradually settles across the UK bringing mostly fine weather with some sunshine.
Overnight frost and fog. Patchy rain far north.
But it will still feel chilly with highs in the mid to low single figures.
Any remaining winds will die down by Tuesday with the exception of areas around the English Channel and southern coast.
There will again be longer sunny spells developing in northern parts of the country.
Cloud will settle across Wales and southern England but temperatures will widely remain low.
Some widespread fog will develop under clear skies in the north overnight into Wednesday morning and could be slow to clear.
More breaks in the persistent cloud cover for southern areas on Wednesday will lead to sunnier spells through the afternoon, and a much drier day nationally, with only East Anglia at risk of some light showers, Mr Eslick said.
The Environment Agency still had 45 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 145 flood alerts in place across England on Sunday evening.
Worcestershire County Cricket Club remains flooded[/caption]
