100mph Storm Eunice will likely be upgraded to a ‘widespread danger to life’ RED weather warning

Storm Eunice is set to pummel the country with winds reaching 100mph on Friday after Storm Dudley charged in from the Atlantic and left a trail of destruction in its wake last night. 

Forecasters have warned the approaching storm – the second of two storms to hit the UK this week – could be the strongest since the Burns Day Storm in 1990, when wind speeds reached 107mph in Aberporth, Wales, and are urging people to stay indoors amid fears of flying debris and falling trees.

As the nation braces itself for the storm, it looks increasingly likely at least parts of southern Britain will be put under rare ‘red’ weather warnings by the Met Office, meaning ‘widespread danger to life from flying debris’.  

The high alert comes after the Met Office upgraded its ‘danger to life’ amber warning to cover the whole of England on Friday when Storm Eunice is expected to slam the country with blizzards and 100mph gales. 

This morning a clean up was under way after Storm Dudley battered the country with winds of 80mph and left thousands of homes without power, caused road closures and saw trains and ferries forced to cancel routes.

As of 5pm yesterday, Capel Curig in Wales had experienced gusts of up to 81mph, with Emley Moore in Yorkshire seeing 74mph winds, while Drumalbin in Scotland was hit by 71mph gales. 

Gales of 101mph were also recorded on the mountain top of Aonach Mor in Scotland. 

Last night thousands of people were left without power after the ferocious winds hit parts of the north east of England, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire, with Northern Powergrid having to place people in a queue for its website due to high demand. 

Electricity North West said power cuts were affecting nearly 1,700 homes in Wigan and thousands more around Lancashire. 

And in Beattock in Dumfries and Galloway, engineers were working to clear a fallen tree after it was blown into the tracks by the strong gales.   

It came after a Titan Airways flight carrying the Manchester City first team from Lisbon was forced to land in Liverpool after circling Manchester Airport.   

In Wales, the M48 Severn Crossing was closed because of high winds, with a diversion along the Second Severn Crossing, and in Salford a parked car was left crushed after strong winds blew the bricks off a house.

Elsewhere Network Rail engineers were called out to deal with extensive damage to overhead lines near Kilwinning that were crushed by falling trees during Storm Dudley.  

And the National Police Air Service shared footage of pilots attempting to battle the strong gales as they flew during the storm.

It came as a tree fell onto a car at the University of Birmingham’s campus and another fell across a road in Wolverhampton.

ScotRail wound down almost all services from 4pm yesterday amid fears of falling trees and blowing debris as Storm Dudley  reached winds speeds of more than 80mph.

Ferries were also severely disrupted, with 20 of the 29 routes experiencing cancellations as the winds continue to batter the country. 

A ScotRail statement said: ‘We know the impact that the earlier withdrawal of services will have on customers but it’s a necessary step to ensure the safety of our staff and customers due to the severe weather.

‘The strength of the winds expected could damage infrastructure, blowing debris and trees on to tracks and damaging equipment such as overhead electric power lines and signals. 

‘Network Rail will have additional engineers out across the network ready to react to problems and will check all affected lines for damage before reintroducing services as quickly as possible. Disruption on some lines is expected to continue until mid-morning on Thursday.’

Robert Morrison, ferry operator CalMac’s director of operations, said: ‘This will be the fourth week of extreme and unprecedented weather disruptions.   

‘We shared last week that this is taking place when other factors are affecting our service – including technical faults, overhaul, and the continuing but lesser effects of Covid-19.

‘We know we cannot control every factor, but we want to stress to our customers again that we do understand how much you and the communities we serve rely on our services.

‘Ensuring ferries work as they should is our priority and we are working hard to ensure we limit the impact of this upcoming period of disruption as much as we can and protect the lifeline service we deliver.’ 

The closures came as London North Eastern Railway (LNER) told customers ‘Please do not travel on Friday 18 February’ as they warned of severe weather conditions across the UK brought by Storm Eunice.        

LNER said in a statement: ‘Our trains will be most impacted by the severe weather in the southern parts of our route (south of York/Leeds) and as a result we will be running a reduced service between London King’s Cross and York/Leeds. We expect these trains to be extremely busy and subject to short notice cancellations and alterations.’ 

Last night Met Office forecaster Becky Mitchell told The Mirror: ‘With the wind gusts we are forecasting at the moment, we’ve only seen a handful of storms in the past 30 years that have brought similar gusts. It’s got the potential to be up there as quite a notable storm.

‘Winds are likely to be 60 to 70mph inland across the south of the UK. It’s quite unusual, we don’t see gusts that high over such a wide area in the south. The Burns Day Storm brought similar gusts.’       

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: ‘We’ve seen Storm Dudley move in over the course of today with strong winds and heavy rain across northern parts of the country.

‘This is a complete contrast to areas in the south which have been rather mild and calm for the most part, the temperature even reaching 17C in some areas.

‘Exposed areas in Scotland, Northern Ireland, parts of Wales and northern England have seen wind speeds largely between 60 and 70mph but the worst affected areas have reached and even surpassed 80mph this afternoon.

‘In terms of rainfall the highest we’ve seen in the past 24 hours is 36.8mm in Low Laithes in west Yorkshire, which is a good amount for the time period.

‘These conditions are likely to continue into the evening before mellowing out in the early hours of Thursday.’   

Yesterday Historic Scotland announced the early closure of eight of its sites, including Edinburgh, Stirling and Blackness castles, Glasgow Cathedral, and Melrose Abbey.

It came as Scotland’s Deputy First Minister John Swinney warned the coming days will be ‘very challenging’ as a result of the two storms.

‘We expect another period of disruption this week, with storms Dudley and Eunice set to bring strong winds to Scotland,’ Mr Swinney said.

‘High winds may cause issues on roads and bridges, disruption to power supplies and danger from falling trees.

‘We would urge everyone to plan their journeys in advance, exercise caution on the roads, and follow the latest travel advice.’      

Ireland was also facing high winds and heavy rain, as both sides of the Irish border brace for the impact of two storms. 

On Wednesday, another meeting was held by members of the Irish Government committee charged with planning and co-ordinating responses to extreme weather events.

In a statement, the crisis management team warned of ‘severe and potentially dangerous winds’ later this week when Storm Eunice hits the country.

Met Eireann has already upgraded its weather warning for a number of Irish counties, with a Status Orange wind warning issued for Clare, Cork, Kerry, Limerick, Waterford, Galway and Wexford.

The warning will take effect from 5am on Friday and will last until 11am, with 80mph gusts predicted in some areas. 

In Northern Ireland, the Met Office has issued an amber wind warning for Co Antrim and Co Derry, with yellow warnings in place for the rest of the region.

That yellow warning will remain in place until 6am on Thursday, with the amber warning in place until midnight on Wednesday.       

Police in the Republic of Ireland have also warned people to exercise caution amid concerns about flooding in some areas. 

On Friday, heavy rain and ‘significant snowfall’ will hit the Midlands and north Wales – with two inches of snow and ‘blizzards’ expected in Scotland. 

A Met office warning reads: ‘Snow, heavy in places, is likely to develop on the northern side of Storm Eunice as it moves across the UK on Friday.’ 

In higher regions snow is expected to reach up to 11 inches with strong winds leading to poor visibility, blizzard conditions and snow drifts. 

The Met office warned flying debris could ‘result in a danger to life, with fallen trees, damage to buildings and homes, roofs blown off and power lines brought down’. 

Katharine Smith, Environment Agency Flood Duty Manager, said: ‘Strong winds could bring coastal flooding to parts of the west, southwest and south coast of England, as well as the tidal River Severn, in the early hours of Friday morning. This is due to Storm Eunice resulting in high waves and potential storm surge coinciding with the start of a period of spring tides.

‘Please remember to take extreme care on coastal paths and promenades. We urge people to stay safe on the coast and warn wave watchers against the unnecessary danger of taking ‘storm selfies’. Flooding of low-lying coastal roads is also possible and people should avoid driving through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.’

Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey said: ‘We are looking at particularly stormy period right now, with two named storms coming through one after the other.

‘This sort of weather set-up is typical for the UK in the winter, with low pressure coming in from the west, driven by the jet stream.’

She said the forecast after Storm Eunice continued to look unsettled with the potential for more wet and windy conditions over the weekend and the start of next week.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said: ‘An active jet stream is helping to drive low-pressure systems across the country, with both storms set to cause some disruption and National Severe Weather Warnings have been issued.

‘Significant disruption is possible from both Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice with strong winds one of the main themes of the current forecast. The most impactful winds from Dudley will be in the north on Wednesday afternoon, as shown in the amber warning area. 

‘Storm Eunice is expected to track eastwards from early on Friday, bringing the most significant winds to the central and southern areas of the UK, with some gusts possible in excess of 95mph in exposed coastal areas.’ 

There have been four named storms so far this season, with the most recent being storms Malik and Corrie at the end of January. 

Gusts from Malik reached 82mph in Northumberland and 72mph in the Derbyshire Peak District.

Meanwhile, during Storm Corrie, 92mph gusts were recorded at Stornoway, in the Outer Hebrides.   

During the storms, between January 29 and 31, two people were killed by falling trees in Staffordshire and Aberdeen, while tens of thousands of homes were left without power.

In 2020, Storm Ciara brought gusts of up to 70mph to the west coast of Scotland.

And in 2019 Storm Atiyah brought 70mph winds across the country along with power cuts and transport delays.

This came just months after Storm Hannah brought gusts of up 69mph in west Wales.

Issuing a warning to motorists this week, National Highways head of road safety Jeremy Phillips said: ‘We’re encouraging drivers to check the latest weather and travel conditions before setting off on journeys and consider if their journey is necessary and can be delayed until conditions improve.

‘If you do intend to travel, then plan your journey and take extra care, allowing more time for your journey.  

‘In high winds, there’s a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes so we’d advise drivers of these vehicles to slow down.

‘Drivers of other vehicles should be aware of sudden gusts of wind which can affect handling and braking, and give high-sided vehicles, caravans, and motorbikes plenty of space. 

‘In the event of persistent high winds we may need to close bridges to traffic for a period, so please be alert for warnings of closures and follow signed diversion routes.’  

Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: ‘An active jet stream is driving low-pressure systems across the country, both of which are likely to cause some disruption and national severe weather warnings have been issued.’  

At the weekend, Energy distributor Northern Powergrid apologised to dozens of customers who were issued them with compensation cheques for £2.3trillion by mistake, after delays to reconnect their power supplies in the wake of November’s Storm Arwen. 

The RNLI warned adverse weather conditions could make seas ‘treacherous’, urging people to take extra care in coastal areas. 

‘The expected storms could make our seas treacherous, increasing the risk for those visiting the coast around the UK and Ireland,’ RNLI national water safety partner, Samantha Hughes, said.

‘In a normal year, around 150 people lose their lives at the coast and we know that more than half of those never intended to be in the water.

‘So, whether you are walking, running or cycling at the coast, please be extra responsible and avoid taking unnecessary risk or entering the water.

‘In particular, we ask people to stay well back from stormy, wintery seas and cliff edges, check tide times before you go, take a phone with you, and call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard if you or someone else is in trouble.’

Meanwhile, the Woodland Trust Scotland urged people to stay away from wooded areas during the high winds.

‘Please do not enter woodland when winds are high and be cautious when entering woodland after a storm,’ said spokesman, George Anderson.

He added: ‘Even fully toppled trees are best avoided when newly felled as they are often not completely settled and still have the potential to move or tip.

‘We know a felled tree can be fascinating, especially to children, but it is not safe to clamber about on or under them.

‘Woodland Trust Scotland manages 60 sites across the country and, in the aftermath of any storm, public safety is our first concern.

‘Where paths are blocked, we will have them cleared as quickly as possible but, in the meantime, we call on the public to heed all path diversions and safety notices on sites.’