BRITAIN:One man was killed as gale force winds and heavy rain caused severe disruption across parts of Britain yesterday, knocking down power lines and closing roads.
The man died after a tree fell on his car in the village of Britty Common near Taunton in Somerset, police said.
Trees falling across railway lines also caused problems and there were warnings of flooding if rivers burst their banks.
The Met Office said gusts of wind could reach 113km/h (70mph) to 129km/h (80mph) in places.
"It is an Atlantic storm that is going to the north of the British Isles but causing windy conditions over much of the country," a Met Office forecaster said.
While the strongest winds hit north Wales and Scotland, trees were flattened across much of Britain, in part because heavy rain has loosened the soil and made trees more vulnerable.
Up to 80,000 homes in south and mid-Wales were without power after trees brought down power lines.
"The main areas affected are around Swansea, the Neath Valley, Pontypool and up into Powys," a spokeswoman for utility Western Power said. She said emergency teams were trying to restore power, but the weather was hampering efforts.
"Normally we would use helicopters to check the power lines, but we can't do that at the moment because it is too windy."
Meanwhile, Kent Police were forced to close parts of the M20 to stack freight lorries unable to get across to France because the severe weather closed Dover Port to inbound ferries.
High winds closed the M25's Dartford River Crossing bridge. The storms also blew down trees at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Surrey forcing its closure.