Braving Storm Babet! Nottingham students head to city’s pubs and bars in fancy dress costumes during heavy rain and wind despite Met Office warnings

• Storm Babet news LIVE: Follow as Met Office issues rare ‘risk to life’ warning 

Nottingham students did not let Storm Babet stop them from hitting the city’s pubs and bars in fancy dress costumes last night.

The Met Office has issued an extremely rare ‘danger to life’ warning with 70mph gale force winds and over a month’s worth of rain expected to batter the UK today.

But huge groups of students were seen braving the downpours and strong winds as they ventured out for Sports Night on Wednesday.

Both male and female students were pictured donning skimpy outfits despite the cold blast hitting the UK this week. 

As the heavens opened above the Nottingham sky, some students turned to unconventional methods of staying dry. Students were seen using plastic bags to cover their heads as they descended on bars and clubs in the city.

Nottingham University students did not let Storm Babet stop them from hitting the city’s pubs and bars in fancy dress costumes last night

A man wearing Speedos, a tie and a dressing gown attempts to protect a girl from the brutal downpours

A group of female students were seen sporting bunny ears and bow ties as their pink umbrella came under attack from the storm

In a spectacular display of resilience and creativity, these young revellers went all out, sporting an array of wild costumes. 

Storm Babet news LIVE: UK weather latest as Met Office issues ‘risk to life’ warning as over one month’s worth of rain and 70mph gale force winds are set to batter Britain today 

Some students dressed up as Britney Spears, while others came out wearing just Speedos. A man wearing Speedos, a tie and a dressing gown was seen trying to shield a girl from the rain as they marched through the Nottingham streets.

A group of dolled-up female students were seen sporting bunny ears and bow ties as their pink umbrella during a severe yellow weather warning.

Their wild celebrations come despite red and yellow weather warnings across parts of the country this weekend, with harsh rainfall and strong winds threatening to cause huge travel delays. 

Britons are readying for the storm after astonishing footage from Cork, the second largest city in Ireland, shows how vehicles have become completely submerged in water as the island was lashed by relentless rainfall. 

Storm Babet, named after a woman from the Netherlands who said she had been born during a gale, has so far devastated parts of Ireland while it has caused commuter chaos and felling trees in England.

Forecasters are warning that the east of Scotland, including Brechin, Forfar and Kirriemuir, could be hit hardest be ‘exceptionally heavy and persistent rain’.

There may be power outages and some areas could be cut off for days, with people urged to check for flood updates, avoid travel and expect school closures.

Storm Babet’s wrath couldn’t dampen the spirits of Nottingham Trent University students during a severe yellow weather warning

Revellers were seen improvising with plastic bags for umbrellas as they made their way into clubs

Two girls wearing what appears to be a Britney Spears outfit on Sports Night on Wednesday

Taking cover: A girl uses a plastic bag to protect herself from the brutal storm in Nottingham

Plastic bags became the unexpected fashion accessory of the night, with several revelers opting to wear them on their heads to shield themselves from the elements

As the heavens unleashed their watery fury, some students turned to unconventional methods of staying dry

Angus Council said schools will close at lunchtime on Thursday and remain shut on Friday to ‘ensure the safety of children, young people, parents, and school staff’.

Mass train cancellations have been imposed by ScotRail, expected to last from Thursday until Saturday.

Forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: ‘We’re going to see prolonged heavy rain, where we could see 200mm (8in) to 250mm (10in) of rain falling within a day which is well over a month’s worth of rainfall for eastern parts of Scotland.

‘We’re likely to see flooding, power disruption, travel disruption, there is a risk to life as well. There’s also an amber wind warning out for eastern parts of Scotland, where we could see gusts of 60mph to 70mph, just adding to the extremely dangerous weather coming for parts of Scotland.’

On Thursday morning, the north east of England looked to be among the worst impacted as the storm closes in. Huge waves were seen crashing into lighthouses in South Shields, Tyne and Wear and Seaham, County Durham. Boats were also seen majorly rocking on the River Tyne as forceful winds grip the country.

One of Britain’s few open air sea water swimming pools, or lidos, has been badly damaged by the storm. The Shoalstone Seawater Pool in Brixham, Devon, was built around 150 years ago when Queen Victoria was on the throne.

But sheer brute strength of the stormy weather has ripped the metal railings from their mountings and there are fears the lido will be washed into the sea and lost forever.

Storm Babet, a complex area of low pressure which developed to the west of the Iberian peninsula, was named by the Met Office on Monday morning. 

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