Storm Eunice looms as Storm Dudley clear-up continues

Travel disruption and power cuts are continuing across parts of the UK, as the country braces itself for a second storm.

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

In Scotland, all trains were cancelled on Wednesday evening but most lines were back up and running by 10:00 GMT.

More severe weather is expected on Friday, with an amber warning for wind in place for Wales and much of England.

The Met Office is warning of significant disruption and danger to life from Storm Eunice, with gusts of up to 80mph.

Around the coasts of west Wales and south-west England, gusts of up to 100mph are possible, the Met Office said. Such strong winds are very unusual for these parts of the UK.

The amber warning is in place from 03:00 GMT until 21:00 on Friday and goes as far north as Manchester.

With the possibility of such high wind speeds, BBC Weather presenter Simon King said the warning could be upgraded to red – the highest level – if the Met Office’s confidence that these speeds will be reached increases.

He 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.

Several train operators in England are advising customers not to travel on Friday due to expected disruption, saying people would be able to use their tickets on Thursday or Saturday instead.

Transport for Wales also warned its train services could be disrupted and advised people to check before travelling.

In Scotland ferry routes continue to be affected by cancellations.

The other weather warnings issued by the Met Office are:

One flood warning is in place for Keswick Campsite, while 42 flood alerts have been issued across northern England. In Scotland, there are five flood alerts in place.

The Met Office said the severe weather would probably ease on Thursday before getting worse on Friday.

But Network Rail warned train services in northern and central England could still be disrupted on Thursday, with some services already affected by cancellations and delays due to fallen trees. It advised people to check their journey before travelling.

On Thursday morning, Northern Powergrid said it had restored power to about 19,000 homes and businesses but about 1,000 properties were still affected.

Electricity North West said it had restored power to the majority of the 2,200 affected properties on Wednesday, but 118 remained without power.

Ross Easton, from the Energy Networks Association, told the BBC preparations were under way in anticipation of more power disruption from Storm Eunice.

It comes after Storm Malik and Storm Corrie brought widespread disruption and power cuts to Scotland and northern England last month.

Francis Reavley, from Kirkwhelpington, Northumberland, lost power for five days during Storm Arwen, in November, and then for two days during Storm Malik.

His power went off again at about 15:00 on Wednesday and, after reporting it to Northern Powergrid, he was told it would be back on later in the afternoon, although reconnection times have since been put back.

“I have no confidence it will be back on then because they just keep putting it back and back,” he said on Wednesday.

“I am so frustrated and so fed up with all of this. It looks like we are going to have another dark, cold night.”

In Croxhoe, a village near Durham, Ronnie Neirn spent several hours in his car trying to keep warm because he had no heating due to power outages.

John Willis, who lives in the same village, was also hit by a power cut on Wednesday.

“It’s not the first time. [It happened] last year and the year before, we always have trouble,” he told the BBC.

His grandson, who was at the house to drop round battery-power lights, said: “My granddad’s partially sighted as well so it’s a bit dangerous.”

On Wednesday, Storm Dudley brought gusts of up to 81mph in Capel Curig in Snowdonia, with Emley Moor in Yorkshire seeing 74mph winds, while Aonach Mor, near Fort William, recorded a gust of 101mph.

The Met Office said extremely strong winds would develop on Friday with Storm Eunice, beginning over south-west England in the morning, before spreading north and east during the day.

It said damage to buildings and homes was likely, along with disruption to trains, buses, ferries and flights. There is also a good chance of power cuts, the Met Office said.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency warned there is a risk of flooding in southern England on Friday.

It said strong winds could bring coastal flooding to parts of west and south-west England and the southern coast of England, as well as the tidal River Severn, through the early hours of Friday and into early afternoon.

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