Storm Isha: Suffolk recovers from storm with 70mph winds

Isha – the 10th named storm to hit the UK in five months – wreaked havoc over Sunday night, bringing gales and heavy rain.

In anticipation of the high winds, National Highways took the rare step of closing the Orwell Bridge south of Ipswich to all traffic from 12pm on Sunday.

The Orwell Bridge near Ipswich was closed (Image: Newsquest)

The closure of the key A14 route forced drivers to divert through Ipswich – causing gridlock in the town for most of the day.

The Orwell Bridge reopened by Monday morning as the winds subsided.

National Highways now only closes the Orwell Bridge in exceptional circumstances, instead opting to reduce the speed limit when wind speeds are forecast to reach a certain threshold.

Suffolk Highways confirmed on Monday morning it had been called out to more than 50 fallen trees across the county over the previous night.

One of the roads to be closed due to a fallen tree was Eastgate Street in Bury St Edmunds, which was shut at the junction with Barton Road. 

Eastgate Street in Bury St Edmunds was shut after a tree fell (Image: Freddie Bond)

Suffolk Highways said on social media on Monday morning that a tree had fallen on top of a car parked in the street.

Suffolk police also issued a message of thanks to members of the public who had helped officers clear a fallen tree that was blocking the B1506 in Kentford, near Newmarket, at about 6pm on Sunday.

The Bakers' car trapped under a tree in Finningham (Image: Marian Baker)

And one couple living in Finningham, north of Stowmarket, were unable to move their car after a tree fell on it on their driveway.

Marian Baker said she is awaiting a tree surgeon arriving on Tuesday before she realises the extent of the damage to the Daihatsu she shares with her husband, Mark.

The Daihatsu was trapped under a tree (Image: Marian Baker)

UK Power Networks confirmed several hundred Suffolk homes and businesses were left without electricity due to the conditions, with the outage expected to last until Monday afternoon.

The highest wind speed recorded in Suffolk at the peak of Storm Isha was 67mph in Southwold at 10pm on Sunday, according to Weatherquest meteorologist Dan Holley – although this recording was unofficial.

By Monday morning, the wind speeds across Suffolk calmed down and the rain subsided.

However, it later emerged that Storm Jocelyn would arrive in the UK on Tuesday to become the 10th named storm since the start of the season in September.

The tree blocking the road in Kentford (Image: Mildenhall Police)

This makes it only the second time in a UK storm season that the letter J has been reached in the alphabet.

Winds in excess of 50mph are expected, particularly in the east of Suffolk, while outbreaks of heavy rain are also forecast.

Weather warnings are in place in the north of England and in Scotland, but there are none for Suffolk.

The conditions are expected to be calmer by Wednesday.

Met Office chief meteorologist Steve Willington said: "Although this system (Storm Jocelyn) will be a step down relative to Storm Isha, with the damage and clean up still underway, we could potentially see more impacts from Storm Jocelyn.

"Outbreaks of heavy rain on Tuesday could bring rainfall accumulations of 15 to 20 mm quite widely."

Suffolk has been hit by a barrage of heavy storms over the autumn and winter, with Babet leaving parts of the county flooded in October and Ciarán bringing strong winds.

Henk, which arrived at the start of January, caused dozens of floods and brought down trees across the county.