- Two red warnings issued for southern England for 7am-12pm in South West and 10am-3pm in South East
- Met Office warns of ‘flying debris resulting in danger to life’, ‘roofs blown off’ and power lines down
- Hundreds of schools close, all trains in Wales suspended and rail passengers in England told not to travel
- British Airways cancels dozens of flights and major attractions including London Eye and Legoland close
Millions of Britons were urged to stay at home today amid travel chaos after the Met Office issued a rare ‘red warning’ for 100mph winds over southern England including London as Storm Eunice swept into Britain.
The warnings run from 7am until 12pm in the South West and 10am until 3pm in the South East with forecasters concerned over ‘flying debris resulting in danger to life’ as well as ‘roofs blown off and power lines brought down.
Hundreds of schools were closed, all trains in Wales were suspended and rail passengers across England were told not to travel amid mass cancellations as the Army was on standby for what could be the worst storm in 32 years.
British Airways cancelled more than 80 flights at London Heathrow and City airports, motorists were warned only to make essential journeys and major attractions closed including the London Eye, Kew Gardens and Legoland.
The Met Office issued the first red warning for the South West at 11am yesterday, 20 hours in advance, before issuing the second for the South East at 4am today – just six hours before the ‘extremely strong winds’ begin.
The South West warning covers coastline of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset as well as South Wales due to the combination of high tides, strong winds and storm surge – while the second is over most of South East England.
Top wind speeds could hit 100mph with the strongest gusts expected in exposed coastal areas, while a lesser amber warning for gusts up to 80mph covers the whole of England until 9pm tonight having started at 5am.
The Met Office added that the phenomenon known as a sting jet – a small area of highly intense wind inside a storm – could form later today. It would be the first instance of such an event since the Great Storm of 1987.
Forecasters today urged Britons to work from home in the worst affected areas – with the centre of the storm expected to be up the Bristol Channel and around the narrowing of the River Severn in Gloucestershire.
The top wind gusts recorded as of 8am were 77mph on the Isles of Scilly, 75mph at Capel Curig in North Wales and 71mph at Needles on the Isle of Wight. Meanwhile in a string of weather-related developments:
- Most schools across the worst hit regions in the South West and Wales announced they will shut today;
- Major UK attractions including Windsor Castle, London Zoo and Chessington World of Adventures closed;
- Windsor Great Park, Richmond, Bushy and Greenwich Parks in London all said they would shut to the public;
- Network Rail warned disruption was ‘inevitable’ with airports advising people to check flights with airlines;
- People were urged not to take dangerous ‘storm selfies’ with huge waves expected along the south coast;
- The Environment Agency issued 10 severe flood warnings, 31 normal flood warnings and 102 flood alerts;
- In some areas, refuse collections were cancelled and residents warned to ‘tie down’ bins in the back garden;
- Pet owners were warned to take extra precautions to keep their animals safe during the storm.
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