Severe weather update

Last updated: 9.30am  22 November 2023 

Please check the Met Office weather warnings website for the latest information.

Environment Agency alerts remain in place in parts of the county. The live updates also link through to advice on preparing for potential flooding.

Key advice

• Please plan ahead and anticipate hazards on the road, including standing water and fallen trees.
• Be cautious around coastal and flooded areas and stay away from the water’s edge.
• Check back here for further information and check in with your service providers and other emergency services for their updates.

Flooding update from West Sussex Highways:

Thank you to everyone for your patience while our Highways teams continue to tackle flooding on the road network. 

Persistent, torrential downpours saturated the ground, pushed ground water levels up to and, in some cases, above saturation point. Unfortunately, even the most efficient highway drainage systems can be overwhelmed in these severe conditions, forcing some roads to be flooded. Privately-owned land surrounding the highway will often be overwhelmed in these circumstances, too. In some areas, highway drainage is reliant on a surrounding watercourse, such as a stream: if the watercourse is over capacity, highway water cannot drain away. This has been the cause in many of the recent road closures.

Residents are urged to please plan ahead and check the Met Office weather warnings website for the latest information, anticipate hazards on the road, including standing water. Please always adhere to road closure signs: they are in place for everyone’s safety.

As we head into the colder season, you can find information on how we manage our roads in winter, including gritting and clearing snow and ice, on our website. Updates on our gritting operations will be issued via our WSHighways Twitter account.

Bognor Regis roads update:

The A29, Shripney Road, between Nyton and the Shripney Road Bypass roundabout, has now been reopened following recent flooding, caused by the persistent heavy rain.

The highway drainage in this area had been thoroughly inspected this year and was working as it should : unfortunately, until now, the rain water could not drain into the already-saturated surrounding land, which in turn was trying to drain into the nearby Aldingbourne Rife tributaries, which were over their capacity. 

The A29 Shripney Road, between Orchard Way roundabout and Oaklands roundabout: road was fully reopened on Saturday afternoon.

Recent rainfall figures in West Sussex:

These have been striking: the Chichester and Bognor Regis figures for October are 302 per cent and 341 per cent above the average norm. The rainfall figure for Bognor Regis in October was 274mm and 250mm in Chichester. To put this in perspective, the long-term average rainfall for West Sussex during October is 62.2mm.

Schools:
Some schools may take the decision to close as a result of the severe weather. Your child’s school should let you know if they are affected. We will update our webpage with information on closures as we receive details from schools. Find a school, academy or college - West Sussex County Council

Our Highways teams are busy responding to the increased number of issues that have been caused by last week's stormy weather. We have paused some non-essential maintenance to increase the number of team members we have available to respond to safety issues. We also have tree surgeons and gully trucks on standby to deal with fallen trees and flooding to keep the county’s roads clear.

We ask members of the public to ensure that they are only calling to report emergency issues during this period to enable our teams to focus on immediate safety issues on the network.  There are a number of roads that needed to be closed to enable us to tackle safety issues during this period and we would ask that people please bear with us and if they need to travel they use diversion routes. You can keep up to date with road closures on this webpage and X @WSHhighways

Please continue to report issues on the highways so we can attend to them quickly:

• If the issue is an emergency and presents an immediate risk to public safety, phone: 01243 642105. (We ask members of the public to ensure that they are only calling to report emergency issues during this period to enable our teams to focus on immediate safety issues on the network)
• Report problems with flooding, blocked drains and gullies here Flooding, blocked drains and gullies - West Sussex County Council
• Report an issue with fallen trees here Trees, hedges, weeds and grass - West Sussex County Council

You can find travel information here:

• Roadworks information is provided via one.network
• Access to live bus times is available from our Real Time Bus Information website
• Train information (live departures and arrivals) is available from National Rail Enquiries
• If you encounter flood water or heavy rain when driving, please follow the advice from the AA 

UPDATE: The A29, Shripney Road, between Nyton and the Shripney Road Bypass roundabout, has now been reopened following recent flooding, caused by the persistent heavy rain.

The A29 Shripney Road, between Orchard Way roundabout and Oaklands roundabout was fully reopened on Saturday afternoon.

We will be providing information on roads that are closed as a result of storm damage or flooding following the severe weather. Please be aware that this list is not exhaustive and will not be updated during out of hours:

Trading Standards Advice Regarding Rogue Traders

When extreme weather hits the UK as we have seen over the last few days, legitimate traders are in high demand. CTSI urges the public to:

• Never engage with cold callers knocking on your door or who call out of the blue
• Be wary of using traders recommended on social media
• Choose a trader that is part of a Trusted Trader scheme
• Get 3 quotes from different and independently sourced traders
• Be careful of online reviews as these may not be genuine

When gathering quotes it’s important to always get these in writing and make sure you get a contract so you know exactly what you are paying for, to help avoid additional costs that you thought were already included in the price.

• Dealing with extreme weather
  
  
• Preparing for emergencies
  
  
• The Environment Agency’s live flood warnings and alerts, plus links to advice on preparing for potential flooding
  
  
• Flooding can cause a range of health problems. Advice is available on keeping you and your family safe while cleaning up your home affected by flooding.
  
  
• Met Office
  
  
• Follow us on X for regular updates @WSCCNews  @WSCCResilience and @WSHighways

• During an emergency situation, your mental health and emotional wellbeing are just as important as your physical health. See our mental health advice page for support and help available.