Storm Dennis claims its first victim as a teenager dies after going into the sea to thrill-seek the immense waves brought on by high winds.
Emergency crews and a rescue helicopter was scrambled to Herne Bay, Kent, after 12p.m.
Mail Online reports that paramedics battled to save the teen as the fourth named storm of the year raged on, but they were unable to.
Storm Dennis has already started wreaking havoc across the county as it made landfall in Britain with hundreds of flights cancelled, trains delayed and already flood-ravaged areas preparing for their second bout of devastating extreme weather.
No fewer than 40,000 passengers have been affected by travel disruption so far as budget airline easyJet cancels 234 flights from, to and within the UK today.
Another 60 easyJet flights will not take off tomorrow as the storm brings 70mph winds and 100mm of rainfall in some areas.
Storm Dennis will come as a second blow to flood-ravaged communities still recovering from damage caused by heavy rainfall and 80mph winds brought by Storm Ciara last week.
While Storm Ciara had stronger predicted wind speeds than Storm Dennis, the latest weather episode was caused by an extreme drop in air pressure, 24 millibars within 24 hours.
This phenomenon is known as a ‘bomb cyclone’ and Storm Dennis’s dramatic reduction in air pressure was so extreme, it was twice what is usually necessary to merit the title.
