Strong winds could damage trees and disrupt travel

Forecasters have warned that severe weather this week could bring tree branches down and disrupt travel.

Jersey Met has forecast that winds could reach severe gale force 9 by Friday morning, with gusts to 90mph (113km/h).

Senior forecaster Matt Winter said things could still change and forecasters were looking through several weather models to see what was most likely to happen.

He said: "At the moment, we are expecting to see gale perhaps severe gale-force winds... some of the model data has been suggesting we could see something a little bit stronger than that."

The island was hit by strong winds in Storm Goretti in January, and there was widespread damage when a tornado ripped through the east of the island during Storm Ciarán in 2023.

Ferry operator DFDS has rescheduled some services between Jersey, France and the UK ahead of the expected strong winds.

Winter said this week would see the first named storm of the season, which has now been called Storm Austen by the UK Met Office.

Winter said the majority of the week would see "unsettled" weather, with cooler temperatures, more rain and stronger winds.

He added that Jersey Met was reviewing the situation and would be talking to the government about what disruption the island could see.

He urged people to follow guidance and weather warnings.

He said they could be issued at short notice, but discussions with the government and emergency services would take place when there was potential for "a more impactful, severe storm".

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