Hurricane force winds have battered Southern England and Wales since late last night as St Jude Storm headed towards Britain. The Atlantic storm was first detected last week as it was forming off the East Coast of the United States and originally named 'Christian' by the meteorological institute at the Free University of Berlin.

Two people have been killed by falling trees and 99 mph winds have been recorded off the Isle of Wight since the storm made landfall in the early hours of Monday morning. Over 200,000 houses were without power early on Monday.

The Met Office has amber warnings in place in regions all across Southern and Central England (these are: East Midlands, Eastern England, London and the South East, South West England, Wales and the West Midlands). People in affected regions have been warned that strong winds and heavy rain could cause serious disruptions and potentially further property damage.  

The Environment Agency has issued twelve flood warnings, mostly in the South West, where flooding is expected, the Agency said flooding is possible in a further 130 other areas across the Midlands and South of England.

Heavy rain in the South-West has flooded a large number of roads, while others have been made impassable by debris. Trains in the South have been cancelled or subject to disruption by over 100 fallen trees blocking lines. On Monday morning, a Network Rail spokesperson told the BBC "The West Coast, East Coast and Midland main lines are all currently blocked at their southern ends as a result of fallen trees and damage to power lines."

However, relief is in sight; the storm is expected to pass over England relatively quickly, and should be over the Channel by early afternoon.

Martin Young, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, commented, "While this is a major storm for the UK, we don't currently expect winds to be as strong as those seen in the 'Great Storm' of 1987 or the 'Burns Day storm' of 1990.

"This weather system is typical of what we expect to see in winter but as it's coming in during autumn - when trees are in leaf - and while the ground is fairly saturated, it does pose some risks. We could see some uprooted trees or other damage from the winds and there's a chance of some surface water flooding from the rainfall - all of which could lead to some disruption."