Storm Austen: Portland Beach Road Open, Chiswell Flood Alert

Portland Beach Road and the causeway stayed open through the night as Storm Austen reached Dorset. Dorset Council said at 5.15am on Friday that the road would stay open “for as long as safe conditions allow”.

The Environment Agency and the emergency services watched the road overnight. The council said they were “satisfied that current conditions do not require the road to be closed”. It put the period of highest risk as running until 1pm on Friday 23 October. Read the council’s update.

The warnings in force

The Met Office has a yellow warning for wind covering Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. It runs from 9pm on Thursday 22 October to 4pm on Friday 23 October. The amber warning, the more serious level, covers Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth and the Isles of Scilly only, and ended at 9am.

The Environment Agency has two flood alerts on the Dorset coast. A flood alert means flooding is possible. There were no flood warnings, the next level up, anywhere in Dorset when we checked at 5.40am.

West coast of Dorset. The agency says strong winds and large waves may cause flooding from 3.20am to 11am on Friday. It names these places as most at risk:

• Lyme Regis, Charmouth and Seatown
• West Bay, Bothenhampton, Burton Freshwater and Burton Bradstock
• Cogden Beach, Chesil Beach, West Fleet and East Fleet
• Chiswell, in particular, where it says further flooding is possible throughout the morning with force 7 to 8 winds and large waves

East coast of Dorset. High tides may cause flooding from 3.20am to 7.20am. The places most at risk are Castletown on Portland and Preston Beach at Weymouth. Swanage Bay, Studland Bay and Sandbanks, Poole Harbour, Bournemouth beach, Hengistbury Head and Christchurch Harbour may also be affected. The agency forecast a peak at Weymouth of 1.56 metres above average sea level at 5.20am, with southerly force 7 winds.

Both alerts say to avoid coastal roads, footpaths and car parks that may be flooded. The agency will update them by 2.30pm and 3.30pm on Friday.

Schools, roads and trains

• Schools. At 5.45am the council’s closed schools list showed no disruption at any of its 160 schools. Schools update the list themselves, so check it again before you leave. The Thomas Hardye School and The Gryphon School have INSET days today anyway, as our half term page sets out.
• Roads. The council’s live travel updates showed no storm closures early on Friday. The page also carries a warning that, because of a technical issue, travel alerts are not updating, so do not rely on it. Our roadworks page has the planned closures.
• Trains. Great Western Railway and CrossCountry have both changed their timetables for the storm, but the changes they list are in Devon and Cornwall. National Rail warns that high winds can slow trains and bring trees down on the line anywhere under a warning. Separately, no trains run between Southampton and Bournemouth on Saturday and Sunday because of planned engineering work, not the weather.

What it means for you

If you are crossing to or from Portland this morning, the council advises you to:

• check travel conditions before you set off
• allow extra time
• travel only if your journey is essential, where you can
• be ready for your plans to change

It also asks people across Dorset to secure bins and loose things in gardens, take care on the coast, and make sure animals and livestock are sheltered.

Stay off sea walls, promenades and beaches while the alerts are in force, especially at Chiswell and along Preston Beach. Dorset Council’s online forms were also unavailable on Friday morning because of an urgent security update, so reporting a fallen tree or a blocked road online may not work. If a fallen tree or debris is an immediate danger on the road, call 999.

The council says it will post further updates on the same page if the road has to close. You can check the latest flood alerts for your area on GOV.UK’s Check for flooding service.