Royston escaped the worst effects of Storm St Jude, but the strong winds which buffeted the country on Monday still caused chaos for commuters.

Winds of up to 100mph were recorded as the storm swept across the south west of England on Sunday night. But by the time it reached Hertfordshire on Monday morning the gusts had died down somewhat.

Richard Dajda, who runs a weather station in Royston, said: “On Monday we saw the strongest winds we’ve seen so far in 2013, I measured a gust of 39mph. But it was nowhere near the 90mph they had in the southwest, or the highest I’ve recorded since I started the weather station in 2010, which is 43mph.

“I think we just go the edge of the storm. It was probably more blustery out in the country, but in the town where I am it seemed to have blown itself out by 8.40am.”

The A505 between Royston and the turning New Road, Melbourn, was closed in both directions for three hours after a car collided with a fallen tree near the junction with Newmarket Road, Royston.

Police say two people suffered serious, but not life-threatening, injuries in the accident, which happened at about 7.30am on Monday. The incident caused queues all the way back to the M11 junction near Duxford airfield.

A fallen tree on the A10 near the Queen’s Head in Harston is caused delays for drivers heading between Royston and Cambridge, while at Foxton a car crashed into the forecourt of Reed Autos, damaging two of the vehicles on display. No-one was injured.

Train operator First Capital Connect (FCC) ran no trains on Monday due to the line being blocked or damaged in several places between Cambridge and London King’s Cross. Services returned to normal on Tuesday.

An FCC spokesman said: “All necessary repairs have now been made on all lines of the Great Northern route and they have been handed back to us by Network Rail. We would like to thank our passengers for their patience.”

Mr Dajda’s weather data can be viewed online at www.dajda.net.