‘Stay at home’: Rare red weather warning issued for Storm Eunice from 7am

Britons are being urged to stay at home as Storm Eunice sweeps across the country – with forecasters warning wind speeds could break records.

Weather warnings are in place across most of the UK – including a rare red warning for wind – and the Met Office fears “significant gusts” could lead to flying debris endangering lives, power lines being brought down, and roofs blown off homes.

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Here is the latest information on the weather warnings that are in force:

• A red warning for wind is in place across parts of southwest England and south Wales from 7am to 12pm on Friday. Widespread inland gusts of 70mph to 80mph are likely, rising to 90mph near some coasts
• Amber warnings – the second-highest level – are in place across most of England from 5am to 9pm. “Extremely strong winds” are expected to develop in the South West of England early in the morning and will spread north and east. Gusts could reach 80mph in some places
• Yellow warnings for wind have been issued across parts of northern England, southwest Scotland and Northern Ireland, and are in place from 7am to 6pm. Gusts of up to 60mph are likely and may rise to 75mph in a few exposed sites
• Separately, yellow warnings for snow are in force from 3am to 6pm – affecting Northern Ireland, large swathes of Scotland, parts of the North East and North West of England, and Yorkshire

Check the weather forecast in your area

Met Office forecaster Annie Shuttleworth said: “The whole of the country will be affected by the extremely strong and damaging winds, which will cause significant disruption.

“People will see significant delays to travel and power cuts, so you should avoid travelling if you can and stay at home when winds reach the highest speeds.

“In areas covered by the red warning, especially coastal regions, there is likely to be overtopping of the sea, flooding to roads and homes, trees being overturned, tiles coming off buildings and power lines being toppled over.”

She urged people to tie down objects in their gardens, fasten doors and windows, and ensure cars and parked away from trees and walls.

A list of the main closures due to Storm Eunice

‘Storm will be worse than Dudley’: Severe flood warnings in place

The Environment Agency is urging coastal communities to prepare for flooding, with Storm Eunice “coinciding with a period of spring tides and large waves”.

Further spells of heavy rain are also expected this weekend – and the current flood alerts and warnings have been issued:

• Ten severe flood warnings, indicating a danger to life
• 26 flood warnings, indicating that flooding is expected
• 91 flood alerts, indicating that flooding is possible

It comes days after Storm Dudley left tens of thousands of homes without power and disrupted travel services – with forecasters warning Eunice will be more damaging.

The COBRA emergency committee met on Thursday to discuss the response to both storms, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that the Army is on standby to help those affected.

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Schools closed, attractions shut and rail services suspended

Friday’s extreme weather will also disrupt half-term plans for thousands of families, with major attractions including the London Eye, Legoland and Chessington World of Adventures confirming they will be closed today.

Bristol City Council has advised schools in the area to stay closed – with schools in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire and Wrexham also shutting their gates.

Wales has taken the unusual step of closing its railway network nationwide, and some operators in England are encouraging passengers to travel on Saturday instead.

Overnight, shelters were opened in London for people who are sleeping rough.