The greatly anticipated St Jude, expected to be the worst storm in Wales for five years, hit Cardiff last weekend, causing relatively little distrubtion. The storm, named after St Jude, the patron saint of lost causes, saw torrential rain fall in the early hours of Monday morning causing significant flooding, cancelled trains and road closures.
Despite being warned to expect the worst, Cardiff Students were underwhelmed by the relatively calm conditions on Monday morning.
According to the Met Office, the South Wales coast suffered most of the early weather, with a 64mph gust recorded at Mumbles Head in Swansea, despite initial reports predicting up to 80mph winds. Even so, the low pressure weather front decreased in wind power as it moved inland.
A spokesman for the Met Office defended the decision to issue an amber weather warning for the area- asking people to ÔÇÿbe preparedÔÇÖ for possible storm damage- as there was a chance that the storm could have moved north off course and caused more serious damage.
There was significant travel disruption caused by the storm, with both Severn bridges being closed until 7am causing trouble for commuters, and several roads were briefly shut in Cardiff before being reopened.
Fire crews also helped to clear water from houses in South Wales, including in Cardiff, Cwmbran and Barry, as well as from the Kingsway Shopping Centre in Newport.
One group of students who were undeterred by the weather were those enjoying CardiffÔÇÖs infamous Carnage club night on Sunday. Most party-goers escaped the rain by sheltering underneath umbrellas and ponchos, with the eventÔÇÖs organisers, Carnage UK, earlier tweeting ÔÇÿRain donÔÇÖt stop us!ÔÇÖ
ÔÇÿÔÇÖIt was raining all night but we still had a brilliant timeÔÇÖÔÇÖ joked one student. ÔÇÿÔÇÖWhen youÔÇÖre drinking so much you donÔÇÖt really notice the weather!ÔÇÖÔÇÖ
Unfortunately, the dangers of St Jude were more prevalent elsewhere in the UK. Around 600,000 homes in Southern England were left without power, while there were four deaths recorded following the storm, as well as a 14 year old boy who swept out to sea in Newhaven, East Sussex.
In Hever, Kent, a 17 year old girl died after the storm blew a tree onto the static caravan in which she was living, while two people were killed in Hounslow when a gas explosion destroyed three houses and damaged two more after the storm blew a tree down.
Interestingly, last weekÔÇÖs storm fell on the 100th anniversary of the Abercynon tornado which killed three people and injured a hundred more when storms hit South Wales in late October 1913. Around a thousand homes were also damaged, causing over ┬ú40 000 in damage costs- over ┬ú3 million in todayÔÇÖs money.
Kieran Davey
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