Live weather updates as wind brings down trees and forces multiple road closures

High winds have brought down trees and forced the closure of the Severn Bridge (M48) in both directions. The A48 is now closed between the Pyle roundabout and the Porthcawl roundabout in both directions due to fallen trees. Severn Bridge traffic is being diverted to the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge. In Caerphilly, the A469 is currently closed between Ystrad Mynach and Llanbradach.
A lane of the A473 between Church Village and Llantwit Fardre is completely flooded. Natural Resources Wales have issued a flood alert for the River Taff as Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) Council has told residents to prepare bt securing their flood gates.

Earlier this evening emergency services attended an incident in Pontypridd after a van was spotted in the River Taff. A Met Office yellow alert for wind is currently in force for much of south Wales and the conditions are only expected to worsen. Storm Darragh has been named and is forecast to bring very strong winds and heavy rain to the UK on Friday and through the weekend. An amber warning for wind has been issued for parts of Wales with a warning of gales of up to 80mph.On Thursday morning there were 15 flood alerts across nine areas of Wales after a night of heavy rain. A series of low-pressure systems are set to bring very wet and windy weather to Wales over the next 48 hours

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