Storm Eunice heads for UK and prompts danger to life warning

A rare red weather warning – the highest level – has been issued for parts of south-west England and south Wales on Friday, meaning there is a danger to life from flying debris.

The Met Office warned Storm Eunice could bring gusts of up to 90mph, causing significant disruption.

Damage to homes, train cancellations and power cuts are also likely, it said.

The red warning is in place from 07:00 GMT until 12:00 on Friday.

It covers the coastline of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset, as well as the south coast of Wales.

A lower amber warning for wind remains in place for the rest of Wales and most of England as far north as Manchester, from 05:00 until 21:00 on Friday.

All train services in Wales have been suspended on Friday, while rail companies are urging other customers not to travel due to expected disruption.

Several Welsh councils have said schools will be closed on Friday.

The government held an emergency Cobra meeting to discuss the response to the incoming storm.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the Army was “on standby” to support those affected.

It comes after Storm Dudley caused widespread travel disruption and power cuts on Wednesday.

There are concerns that Storm Eunice could bring coastal flooding to the west, south-west and the south coast of England. The River Severn is also an area of concern.

A government source told the BBC that a storm surge could coincide with high spring tides.

The source said they were “well-prepared” with more than 250 high volume pumps and 6,000 trained staff able to be deployed, adding they were not taking the threat posed by Eunice “lightly”.

The Met Office said extremely strong winds would develop over south-west England and south Wales early on Friday, with widespread inland gusts of 70-80mph and up to 90mph near some coasts.

The winds are expected to ease from the west during the late morning but it will remain unsettled over the weekend with more rain and strong winds.

Aidan McGivern, from the Met Office, said red warnings were not issued lightly and only when there was a significant danger to life and high confidence of a major impact.

“It is the most powerful storm we have seen in recent years and we should tie down anything loose especially trampolines and make plans to stay in especially if you live in a red zone,” he told the BBC.

The last red warning was for Storm Arwen in November last year, which saw strong winds batter the east coast of Scotland and north-east coast of England.

Before that, one had not been issued since 2018, when the so-called “Beast from the East” brought widespread heavy snow and freezing temperatures to many parts of the UK in late February and March.

BBC Weather presenter Simon King said the wind strengths forecast for southern parts of the UK were comparable to the Burns’ Day Storm of January 1990, which caused widespread damage, and the storms that hit the UK during the winter of 2013-2014.

Train companies are urging customers not to travel on Friday, with blanket speed restrictions set to be imposed on the main rail lines across the country.

Jake Kelly, from Network Rail, said: “We will be doing everything we can to keep as many services as possible running safely and reliably on Friday, but with such strong winds expected we know that disruption to passengers’ journeys is inevitable.”

Great Western Railway said it expected to cut half its services on Friday. The mainline in south Wales will be closed, with services terminating at Bristol Parkway, while some branch lines in Devon and Cornwall will also close.

Customers with tickets for travel on Friday will be able to travel on Thursday through to Monday or claim a refund, its said.

Network Rail said disruption was likely to continue into the weekend, while tracks were cleared of debris and fallen trees.

Highways England urged drivers, particularly those driving high-sided lorries, caravans and motorcycles, to check the weather before setting off, especially in coastal and high-lying areas.

In Cornwall and Somerset, residents are being urged to stay at home and only travel on Friday if “absolutely necessary”.

Both councils advised people to stay back from cliffs and seafronts due to the danger of large waves.

Cornwall Council warned the worst winds were set to coincide with high spring tides along the coastline at about 06:00, leading to possible flooding.

It said the storm was likely to be as powerful as those that affected the county in 2014, which saw homes evacuated amid widespread flooding.

Avon and Somerset Local Resilience Forum and Gloucestershire Council have declared a major incident, with flood warnings in place along the Severn Estuary up to Longford.

It said council and emergency services staff would be knocking on doors to ensure people who needed to evacuate could do so safely and rest centres were being set up.

Natural Resources Wales said high winds could cause a storm surge and lead to significant flooding.

The Prince of Wales has cancelled a planned visit to Newport and Swansea as a result of the forecast.

Nine severe flood warnings have been issued for parts of the Severn and Wye estuaries, meaning there is a danger to life.

Less serious flood warnings and alerts have been issued for other parts of England, Scotland and Wales.

A red weather warning has also been issued for Counties Kerry and Cork in south-west Ireland, from 03:00 until 08:00 on Friday.

Robbie Bartington and her husband David Walis, who run an animal sanctuary on the Gower Peninsula in south-west Wales, said an “absolutely huge” oak tree on their land was blown down on Wednesday night.

“Luckily it only broke the fencing and a few tables, it didn’t damage the animals,” Ms Bartington said.

“It’s done terrific damage to our exterior fencing of our garden where we have a lot of sheep in the garden but anything that was in the way when it fell would have been killed instantly,” her husband added.

Mr Walis said they were “extremely worried” about the upcoming storm as they were concerned the winds could take the roofs off the shelters for their rescue ponies and sheep.

“With the enormity of the winds that are coming I fear greatly not just for the roofs but for the animals,” he added.

A yellow warning for wind and snow is also in place for much of Northern Ireland, northern England and Scotland as far north as Glasgow from 03:00 until 18:00 on Friday.

The Met Office said some places could see 5cm (2in) of snow at low levels away from coasts, while there could be accumulations of up to 30cm for areas above 250m.

On Wednesday Storm Dudley left thousands of people in north-east England, Cumbria, North Yorkshire and Lancashire without power.

On Thursday morning, Northern Powergrid said 1,200 customers were still without power, after more than 20,000 were hit.

It said it was hoping to get all customers reconnected on Thursday ahead of the new storm coming in but if not it was “confident” only a small proportion would still be waiting by Friday.

The organisation said it was also preparing for Storm Eunice, which it said posed a risk to power supplies.

Electricity North West said 167 properties remained without power, of the more than 10,000 affected by outages.

In Scotland, all trains were cancelled on Wednesday evening but most lines were back up and running by Thursday morning.

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