Heavy rain and wind battered Dorset yesterday as Storm Nelson blew its way through the county.
As the storm swept in, a yellow weather warning was issued for wind across the county, which saw Portland record wind speeds of 49mph on Thursday, March 28, the fifth highest speed in the country, according to the Met Office.
There was also flooding to the west of the county with areas such as Bridport, Burton Bradstock and Shipton Gorge heavily affected.
Floodwater entered the Texaco garage at Burton Bradstock, forcing it to close its doors and the River Bride burst its banks in Shipton Gorge flooding Cuckoo Lane.
READ: Flooding forces garage to close
Motorists were held up when an overturned car and an overturned caravan closed the A35 between Dorchester and Bridport yesterday afternoon.
READ: A35 closed as car and caravan overturn
Flood alerts had been issued for much of the county including the River Brit, Lower River Frome, River Wey, Weymouth Harbour and the River Piddle
There were also cancellations and delays to trains between Weymouth and Bournemouth as the high winds forced trains to run at slower speeds throughout the day.
Over 100 homes and businesses in West Bay were left without power for the majority of the day due, including the Bridport Arms and West Bay Hotel. The Discovery Centre was also forced to close.
The treacherous weather also a road closure in Wool as Duck Street was closed due to flood water and a caravan was blown over by high winds along the A35 between Dorchester and Bridport.
The Range car park in Dorchester was also flooding leaving customers having to wade through flood water to access their cars.
Pictures taken in West Bay and Lyme Regis also show the waves battering the sea defences, leaving one member of the public to say the wind was ‘really blowing’ when they were out for a walk in Lyme Regis
A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: “Strong winds and spring tides may cause large waves and spray overtopping on the coast today (Thursday, March 28).
"The tides are also expected to be higher than normal due to the windy weather during the next two spring tides.”
The heavy rain also saw a pollution alert issued for Lyme and West Bay as raw sewage was dumped into the see.
A spokesperson for Surfers Against Sewage, who monitor the sewage dumps, said: "Storm sewage has been discharged from a sewer overflow in this location within the past 48 hours."
The weather also saw Max Gate in Dorchester and Hardy's Cottage in Higher Bockhampton, the home of Thomas Hardy, closed by the National Trust due to safety concerns.
A spokesperson from the National Trust said: "Due to forecast bad weather and high winds, we need to shut down on Thursday March 28 for your safety. We look forward to welcoming you back soon.”
The unsettled weather is set to continue through out Easter weekend with showers expected across much of the county, and thunderstorms expected in coastal areas around mid morning on Good Friday.
From Easter Sunday things should start to clear up, however, there could still be some showers.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Helen Caughey said: “Showers will continue into the weekend, especially for southern and western areas.
“However, it is likely that we will see something of an improvement for most areas, with showers tending to become less frequent, especially on Sunday.
“It will also become less windy, and temperatures should start to trend upwards, feeling quite warm in any sunshine.
“However, more widely unsettled conditions look likely to return into Easter Monday, but there is still some uncertainty in the timing of this deterioration.”
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