Britain faced more severe gales after the worst storm of the winter battered the country yesterday.

Hurricanes reaching 82mph cut the power to more than 10,000 homes and caused widespread transport chaos and flooding across the country. Conditions were set worsen last night as the storm’s second surge hit Britain.

The Met Office also gave warning that a third storm would strike large areas of England, Northern Ireland, North Wales and the Midlands late tonight. This could cause even greater disruption because it will occur over a wider land area. The Bristol Channel, Severn Estuary and Somerset coast are deemed most at risk of flooding but almost all of England is expected to suffer gales of up to 80mph today.

Yesterday’s storm hit Cornwall and Devon before sweeping east across England and Wales. More than 100 flights were cancelled as 50mph winds hit Heathrow. Rail services were disrupted and roads around southern England were made impassable.

Winds tore the roofs off buildings in Devon and Wales as the storm swept in from the Atlantic and 33 houses in Cornwall were flooded. Part of the hospitality area for the Cheltenham Festival was also destroyed, less than a day before the start of one of the biggest racing events of the season.

Paul Leinster, director of operations for the Environment Agency, said that the “potent cocktail” of strong winds, wave action and high tides would last well into this week. “The gale force winds combined with spring high tides to significantly elevate the water levels along the coast by up to 1.5m over normal levels, which is likely to cause some flooding,” he said.

A temporary speed limit was imposed on rail lines in parts of the country. Many rail services into London from the South and West were delayed and some cancelled. The exposed coastal stretch of line on the London to Penzance route was badly affected.

Robert Fico, the Slovakian Prime Minister, called off a visit to No 10 because of the bad weather.

Dover was closed to all shipping for most of the day and a rescue was under way to bring in a Swedish tanker drifting off the Isle of Wight after it damaged its rudder. Two tugs and a lifeboat were sent out in force 11 winds to the 11,000-tonne ship, which had 13 people and a cargo of gas oil on board.

In London, two women were taken to hospital after an advertising hoarding and a fence were blown on to them in separate incidents. Thirty people had to be rescued in Sussex from a beachfront caravan park after sea defences were breached.

At 5.30pm the Environment Agency had 41 flood warnings and 68 flood watches in place. It issued a severe flood warning for the coast between Chichester Harbour and Selsey Bill.

Gloucestershire
A hospitality tent at Cheltenham’s racecourse was flattened by the high winds and the starter’s rostrum was blown over. Groundsmen were working to get the course back on track for today’s opening – when about 55,000 spectators are expected to attend the festival.

The Old Severn Bridge was also closed to traffic during rush hour, causing severe delays.

Devon
The county council said it had dealt with more than 70 reports of trees and branches brought down by the storm. There were also 33 incidents of flooding, mainly on roads.

In Torquay, winds tore the roof off a garage. In Plymouth, the Tamar Bridge was closed, bringing traffic to a standstill. And in Ashburton, the winds blew a trampoline over a 20ft-high garden wall.

Cornwall
More than 30 properties in the seaside towns of Looe, Fowey, Mevagissey and Flushing were flooded. Looe received 4ft of water.

Homeowners have been stacking sandbags outside their houses and businesses since Sunday night.

Billy Martin, 44, a restaurant owner in Looe, said: “We are one of the luckier ones – the Indian next door looks more damaged. We were waiting for it to happen and at 7am it flooded. One minute it looked pretty good, but the next it was coming up the drains and through the doors.”

Firefighters stationed at Looe had to relocate when water came over flood defences. High winds brought down electricity cables.

Dorset
Homeowners in the South Coast resort of Sandbanks were left stranded by the severe weather, as a ferry between Sandbanks and Shell Bay in Dorset was suspended “until conditions improve”

Hampshire
All ferry traffic between Portsmouth and Bilbao in northern Spain was cancelled.

Somerset
An inflatable boat was used to rescue a motorist trapped on top of his car near Ilminister. The man called the fire service to say that flood water which was rising above his van’s wing mirrors.

Kent
Firefighters were called to a three-storey building in Canterbury after a section of its roof was ripped off by the wind, damaging two properties as it blew onto the road.

Wales
A garage roof blew off in St David's, West Wales, damaging the main house. The roof of a bungalow extension near Pembroke was also blown off.

More than 170 residents of a caravan park in St Brides, near Newport, had to be evacuated in the middle of the night following fears of flooding.

Winds reaching storm force 10were recorded by Holyhead coastguards. The river Cleddau in Pembrokeshire burst its banks.

Co Durham and Cumbria
Heavy snowfalls caused treacherous driving conditions on the A66. Lorries sheltered at the side of the Trans-Pennine route. Snow ploughs were out to keep the road open.

Ireland
Houses in the Sandymount and Ring-send areas of Dublin were provided with sandbags by the council to protect from flooding. Ferry services between Holyhead and Dublin and from Pembroke to Rosslare were cancelled. A spokesman said today’s sailings could also be affected.

Scotland
Winds of up to 57mph hit Machrihanish in Argyll and 55mph on the Isle of Lewis. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings for Strathclyde, Grampian, the Highlands, Central and Tayside. There was snow over the southern uplands, the Highlands and Grampian.

Sussex
Police received 270 calls by 9am. “Thankfully, there were no serious incidents,” a spokesman said.

Wiltshire
Pupils at Bradon Forest School in Purton were sent home after concerns about the safety of the roof. Telephone lines in Salisbury came down and 34 fallen trees were reported.

London
Winds reached between 50 and 60mph. A woman was knocked unconscious after a hoarding was blown down at West Hampstead railway station, North London. A heavy fence fell on a woman outside Tobacco Dock, East London. Krissie Ford, a creative solutions manager, was taken to hospital suffering from shock.

France
An 88-metre cargo vessel, Artemis, ran aground at Sables-d'Olonne, on the Atlantic coast. In Britanny, a search resumed for a 26-year-old man missing since Sunday after falling in the sea near Brest. The first stage of the Paris-Nice cycle race was shortened because of strong winds.