More flooding is expected across the country today and tomorrow as the west coast braced for the arrival of "Winter Storm Hercules", the system which has left behind a record-breaking deep freeze in the US.
Waves have been recorded as high as 27ft at Land's End, and reports on surfing forecast websites suggested scores of professional "big wave chasers" were tracking Hercules' movements across the Atlantic.
A flood siren warning of extreme danger to people and property has sounded in Dorset, as tidal surges and storms batter the coast.
The Environment Agency raised the alarm after the sea breached Chiswell Breach in Portland last night, following a severe flood warning in the area.
Dorset Police have told families to move to an upstairs room facing away from the sea with flood kits.
Severe flood warnings - the highest level of warning - have also been issued by the Environment Agency for nearby Preston Beach and the Lower Stour in Dorset.
More than 122 flood warnings urging people to be prepared for flooding remain in place across the country , including in Dorset, Oxfordshire, south Wiltshire, Hampshire and along the river Thames, while more than 200 low-level alerts have been issued.
The Met Office's chief forecaster said a "large, deep depression" was whipping up waves out to sea, and the system of low pressures continues to move "northeastwards across the Atlantic".
Nicola Maxey, a spokesperson for the Met Office, confirmed that Britain was faced with the same system that had led to such extraordinary conditions in the US over the past week.
She added that the storm was "a different beast" after moving across the ocean, picking up water but also gaining heat. It was forecast to pass to the west of Scotland later today, and though not crossing the country led the Met Office to issue severe weather warnings for rain and 70mph winds along the coast.
Credit to The Independent
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