Storm Eunice tracker RECAP: O2 Arena roof Storm Eunice damage | Met Office weather Red Warning | Big Jet TV
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for snow covering much of mainland Scotland. This came into force at 3am today and is due to lift at 6pm.
More than 430 flights due to take off or land at UK airports were cancelled on Friday.
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Hide AdA man was killed by a falling tree in County Wexford in the south east of Ireland today while a member of the public was in hospital with serious injuries after being struck by falling debris from a roof in Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire.
The winds were so strong in London that parts of the O2 Arena roof have been “ripped off”.
Train services are running well across Scotland with ScotRail saying travellers shouldn’t expect as much disruption as was brought by Storm Dudley earlier this week.
In Aberdeenshire more than 30 schools were closed due to the forecast heavy snow while some schools were shut in Angus and Inverclyde.
You can follow all the latest updates in our live blog.
Scotland’s weather LIVE: Storm Eunice strikes the country bringing heavy snow, high winds and icy conditions
Army on stand-by as Met Office issues red weather warning
Home Office minister Damian Hinds said the Army is on “high readiness stand-by” to help.
He told Sky News: “We are strongly encouraging people to take precautions and make sure they stay safe.”
“A red warning is what it says it is. It is a warning of danger. There is a risk to life and limb.”
Met Office warn of weather phenomenon known as a sting jet
The forecaster defines a sting jet as a small area of very intense winds, which can be as strong as 100mph or more, that can form in powerful weather systems crossing the UK.
The so-called Great Storm in October 1987, which claimed 18 lives, is the most famous example of a sting jet forming, the forecaster said.
Yellow warnings for ice issued across Scotland
The Met Office have issued a yellow warning of ice, which will come into effect at 5pm today and last until 9am tomorrow.
It will affect Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, South-West Scotland, the Lothians and the Borders, Strathclyde, Orkney and Shetland, and the Highlands and Eilean Siar.
Met Office warn of strong winds that may cause disruption
The forecaster has issued a yellow warning of wind, which will last from 12pm on Sunday til 12pm on Monday.
The warning covers Central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, South-West Scotland, the Lothians and the Borders, Strathclyde, Orkney and Shetland, and the Highlands and Eilean Siar
Strongest wind speeds on record in the UK
Storm Eunice is set to sweep across much of the UK, with warnings issues over wind speeds of up to 90mph in some areas.
The storm has sparked disruption in travel and business, with schools closed and some homes left without power.
Here are some of the strongest wind speeds on record in the UK, according to Met Office data:
- 98mph: The strongest gust recorded during Storm Arwen on the night of November 26-27 2021, at Brizlee Wood, Northumberland. Before Storm Eunice, Arwen was the most recent example of a red weather warning being issued in the UK.
- 105mph: The strongest gust during Storm Gertrude on January 29 2016, at Lerwick in the Shetland Islands. This storm saw a red weather warning issued for the whole of the Shetlands.
- 115mph: The peak wind speed reached during the “Great Storm” of the night of October 15-16 1987, at Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex. Gusts also reached 99mph at Gatwick Airport and 94mph in central London.
- 118mph: The strongest gust recorded at a low-level location in England, at Gwennap Head in Cornwall on December 15 1979.
- 142mph: The strongest gust recorded at any low-level location in the UK, at Fraserburgh in Aberdeenshire, on February 13 1989.
- 173mph: This was the strongest gust ever recorded in the UK, at Cairngorm summit in the Highlands of Scotland on March 20 1986.
‘Weather measures are proportionate and extensive’, says John Swinney
Plans in place to deal with the impact of Storm Eunice in Scotland are “proportionate” and “extensive”, the deputy First Minister has said.
New 80mph storm warning for Sunday
Another storm will batter Scotland with winds gusting to 80mph on Sunday and Monday, the Met Office announced today.
It issued a yellow severe weather warning for most of the country apart from the extreme north from noon on Sunday to noon on Monday.
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