Millions of people have been told to stay at home as one of the worst storms in decades, Storm Eunice, hits the UK.
The Meteorological Office has issued a second rare red weather warning to cover London, the south-east and east of England.
A red warning, meaning there is a danger to life from flying debris, which is already set to cover parts of south-west England and south Wales.
Hundreds of schools will be closed, all trains in Wales are suspended and the Army is on stand-by.
Forecasters say Eunice could bring wind gusts of up to 90mph on Friday, February 18, 2022, causing significant disruption and power cuts.
British weather says it “could well be one of the worst storms in three decades”.
Eunice is the second storm in a week for the UK after Storm Dudley battered parts of Scotland, northern England and Northern Ireland, leaving thousands of homes without power.
The Meteorological Office has issued several weather warnings across the UK notifying that:
A red warning for wind is the highest level of alert, along the coastline of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset and south Wales from 07:00 GMT until 12:00 on Friday, February 18, 2022, with gusts of up to 90mph; a further red warning for wind has been issued for London, the south-east and parts of the east of England from 10:00 until 15:00; an amber warning for wind covering all of England south of Manchester and Wales until 21:00 with gusts of up to 80mph; a yellow warning for snow for much of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England from 03:00 until 18:00. A yellow warning for wind in the Midlands, north-east England, north-west England, parts of Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland from 07:00 and 18:00 with gusts of up to 70mph and a yellow warning for wind covering London, south-east England, south-west England, Wales and parts of the West Midlands from 06:00 to 18:00 on Saturday, February 19, 2022.
The UK Meteorological Office
Red weather warnings are rare, and mean that roofs could be blown off, power lines brought down and trees uprooted, as well as flying debris which could cause danger to life.
The last red warning was for Storm Arwen in November last year (2021), but before that, one had not been issued since the “Beast from the East” in 2018.
According to a British weather meteorologist, Ben Rich, he expects Eunice to “cause damage, huge disruption and coastal flooding,” but he said it was “impossible to know exactly how bad this storm is going to be”.
“Winds of the same strengths will cause different impacts in different regions of the UK – for example, coasts of western Scotland are far better prepared for 80mph winds than inland parts of southern England.”
British weather meteorologist, Ben Rich
Another weatherman from Wales, Derek Brockway said although Eunice was not a hurricane, winds will reach hurricane force level.
Authorities have warned people to “tie down” objects in their gardens, fasten doors and windows and keep cars locked in garages if possible away from trees and walls.
The Meteorological Office has also advised people to avoid travelling if they can and stay at home when winds reach the highest speeds.
Hundreds of schools are staying shut on Friday, February 18, 2022, due to the high winds, including in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Bristol.
Almost all Welsh councils have said their schools would close on Friday, February 18, 2022, and some university campuses in Wales also expected to close.
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