Storm Eunice: 60 HOURS of weather warnings still to go with 8 inches of snow, ice and 80mph wind for three MORE days
BRITS will have little time to relax as killer Storm Eunice finally comes to an end – as 60 hours of new weather warnings take hold. The tempest, which brought record 112mph winds and caused four fatalities, has seen rare red alerts in place for the south today. Eight inches of snow, freezing ice and […]
BRITS will have little time to relax as killer Storm Eunice finally comes to an end – as 60 hours of new weather warnings take hold.
The tempest, which brought record 112mph winds and caused four fatalities, has seen rare red alerts in place for the south today.
Eight inches of snow, freezing ice and 80mph gales will now follow in the squall’s wake.
An amber alert for wind in the south ends tonight at 9pm.
Temperatures will then plummet to -1C overnight in some areas.
A new yellow warning for ice is then in place across the vast majority of Scotland and down into England.
Those on the east coast will miss the icy blast – but residents as far south as Stoke on Trent are urged to take care.
That warning is in place until 9am tomorrow.
A separate yellow alert for wind is also in place for the south tomorrow between 6am and 6pm.
The warning covers south Wales, swathes of the West Country and the entire south coast.
It comes as:
- Four people were killed in the terrifying tempest
- Terrifying footage shows the moment pedestrians are blown off their feet in Croydon
- Thousands of homes are left without power – and millions of Brits are warned they could be plunged into darkness tonight
- An emergency COBRA meeting has taken place as the killer tempest lashes the country
- Schools were shut and Brits were urged to work from home as the storm blew in
- A lorry driver escaped without injury after his HGV overturned in Oxfordshire, narrowly missing a van
It will compound the misery for Brits who have been among the worst-affected by Eunice, particularly in the Isle of Wight, which saw the fiercest gales.
On Sunday, yellow warnings for wind have been issued for Scotland and parts of the north-west, while a rain alert is in place between Carlisle and Bakewell in Derbyshire.
And on Monday, another yellow alert for wind will be enforced in Scotland and the north-west.
Britain will finally be free of weather misery at noon that day.
Aidan McGivern of the Met Office said: “Unfortunately, yet more wet and windy weather is expected this weekend, but not on the same scale as Storm Eunice.”
As the storm clears, a north-westerly wind will bring showers, sleet, ice and snow to the north, he said. The white stuff will also fall in northern parts of Wales and the Midlands.
Temperatures will drop as winds die down.
Saturday will bring a bright and cold start, particularly in the north.
In more southern areas, rain will be chased out by 60mph gales during the afternoon.
Read our weather forecast live blog for the latest updates
Disruptive winds and rain are expected again on Sunday.
Mr McGivern said: “The winds pick up significantly later in the day.
“There’s the risk for northern parts of the country – northern England, Scotland, Northern Ireland – of 50 to 60mph gusts inland and 70 to 80mph around exposed coasts and hills.”
It follows one of Britain’s worst storms in decades.
Tragically, three Brits and an Irishman are known to have been killed today.
A woman in her 30s, who was a passenger in a car, died in Haringey, London when a tree fell onto the vehicle.
A man in his 30s, who was behind the wheel, was taken to hospital. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
In Hampshire, a man in his 20s was killed and a second man seriously injured when a 10-foot tree fell in market town Alton.
KILLER STORM
A man in his 50s died when debris smashed through the windscreen of a car in Merseyside.
And a man in his 60s died in Co Wexford when he was crushed by a tree as he cleared debris.
Elsewhere, three people were taken to hospital – one with serious injuries – after a tree fell on a car in Wiltshire, while two others were hurt in a balcony collapse in London.
Today’s gales are believed to be the highest ever recorded in England, according to the Met Office.
Roads are shut around the country after trees toppled into carriageways.
Airports have cancelled hundreds of flights and the Port of Dover temporarily shut during the worst of the weather.
South Western Railway said at least 30 fallen trees were blocking key routes and as a result, all services were suspended until this evening.
MORE MISERY TO COME
Six other operators also cancelled all trains until further notice, including c2c, Chiltern Railways, Great Western Railway, Greater Anglia, Southeastern and Transport for Wales.
Both red warnings, which were in force over southern England and Wales, have now lapsed, meaning the strongest gusts have likely ended.
It was the first time London had ever been covered by such an alert.
In Croydon, astonishing footage shows pedestrians being knocked off their feet.
Part of the roof at the O2 was also torn away, with staff warning the venue could be shut for months.
The worst-hit region – the Isle of Wight – this morning recorded wind gusts of 122mph.
Gusts there were even stronger than during the Great Storm of 1987 when 18 people were killed.
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Meanwhile, a major incident has been declared in Suffolk, while 55,000 homes, farms and businesses suffered blackouts in Ireland this morning and another 85,000 houses were left in the dark across England and Wales.
And more than 100 people were trapped on a ferry in the middle of the sea off the coast of Portsmouth.
Around 90 passengers and 13 members of crew are onboard the Wightlink ferry, which was forced to anchor amid the dangerous conditions.
