Met Office upgrades weather warning as Storm Francis batters Northamptonshire

Met Office forecasters have upgraded their weather warning for Northamptonshire as Storm Francis batters the county on Tuesday.

An amber alert for high winds is now in force from 2pm until 10pm tonight with fears of fallen trees and damage to buildings.

A Met Office spokesman said: "A spell of very strong winds will develop across a large swathe of central England during Tuesday. Gusts are likely to widely reach 50-55 mph inland with some sites seeing 60-65 mph but some higher ground inland may see gusts to 70 mph at times."

Experts yesterday issued a yellow warning ahead of the arrival of Storm Francis.

But an amber warning means an increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather including road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property.

Similar warnings were in force when Storm Ciara hit Northamptonshire in February this year with gusts up to 59.5mph recorded at weather stations.

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