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UK weather: Storm Katie causes delays at Gatwick and major road closures UK weather: Dozens of flights cancelled at Heathrow as Storm Katie hits on Easter Monday with 100mph winds
(35 minutes later)
Sixteen flights have been cancelled and 20 diverted at Gatwick Airport due to high winds as Storm Katie ensured the Easter weekend was a washout for many. Storm Katie is tearing up the flight schedules at many airports in southern England, with many planes and passengers in the wrong places. Many early morning arrivals at Heathrow have been diverted, with British Airways flights from Johannesburg landing at Shannon in Ireland and Glasgow. BA arrivals from Singapore, Delhi and Dubai are on the ground at Manchester. The Sao Paulo and Bombay services have arrived at Birmingham, while some New York passengers are in Newcastle. 
Gusts of 106mph were recorded off the Needles on the Isle of Wight while winds in excess of 70mph hit areas in the South West. BA has cancelled 36 flights to and from Heathrow so far today.
Amber weather warnings were issued for London and the South East. Many other airlines have been affected, with American Airlines, South African Airways and United long-haul arrivals diverted. 
Highways England said the Dartford River Crossing and M48 Severn Bridge were closed overnight on Sunday because of strong winds. Arrivals at the world’s busiest single-runway airport, Gatwick, have been also been heavily disrupted. The biggest airline at the Sussex airport, easyJet, has so far cancelled 10 flights to and from destinations including Athens, Munich and Nice. The airline says: “Many of our aircraft had to divert to other airports across the UK, as a result of this a number of our aircraft are not in London Gatwick for this morning. Our operations team have made multiple changes to our flying programme in order to limit the disruption to our flights this morning, however we advise all passengers to refer back to flight tracker for the latest information.”
Four flights due to land at Gatwick's north terminal between 2am and 2.55am were listed as diverted on the airport's website. BA services to Gatwick from Alicante and Malaga have been diverted to Manchester, with the Venice flight landing at Birmingham. Yet BA’s Toronto-Heathrow service was diverted to Gatwick. 
The Met Office tweeted that gusts of 106mph had been recorded at The Needles. The flights expose the shortage of capacity at the UK’s two main airports. With so little slack in the system, recovering from severe weather is a slow process. Many delays and cancellations are expected as Easter Monday goes on, with aircraft and crew out of position.
Those travelling back from breaks across the country are advised to be careful on the roads, and if possible delay their journeys until later on Easter Monday afternoon. On the railways, the effects of the planned Easter engineering work have been exacerbated by fallen trees on a number of lines in Surrey and Sussex. 
Heavy rain moving north-eastwards across England and Wales presents a risk of localised flooding, while motorists are warned to be wary of branches falling from trees in the high winds.
A yellow warning for wind has been issued for south Wales, the East and South West, while a more serious amber warning is in place for London and the south-east.
Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said: "There is likely to be a lot of surface spray on the roads, there could be localised flooding, and the winds could cause branches to come off the trees, and one or two tiles off the roof.
"On the south coast there could be quite large waves.
"People should keep tuned in to the forecast, and avoid the east coast, south coast and high grounds as well if possible. Allow extra time for your journey and if possible try and delay your journey as winds will tend to ease off throughout the day."
Winds of up to 60mph are forecast inland, with speeds of 70mph expected along the south coast, especially towards exposed areas across the south and south-east.
Northern Ireland and Scotland are set to escape Storm Katie, with a much quieter and bright, if showery, Easter Monday in store, Mr Petagna added.
PA