Hundreds of thousands of people are still without power following Storm Eunice.
A cleanup is set to begin after the storm brought damage, disruption and record-breaking gusts of wind to the UK and Ireland, leading to the deaths of at least four people.
The Met Office said a wind speed of up to 122mph was recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight on Friday, provisionally the highest ever in England, and described the storm as the worst since the Burn’s Day storm 32 years ago in which 47 people died.
About 435,000 homes were left without power early on Friday evening. Hundreds of train services and flights were cancelled, and major roads closed.
Millions of people were urged to stay at homedue to safety fears over the impact of Eunice, while transport woes meant many were unable to travel.
National Rail said “routes across most of Great Britain” remain affected on Saturday morning, with disruption set to continue throughout the day.
“Do not travel” notices have been reissued for a number of services, including for the Southern, Thameslink and Great Northern networks where some routes are not expected to reopen until the afternoon.
South Western Railway expects significant disruption across their network in the morning, while Great Western Railway and Greater Anglia services are suspended until approximately 10am.
Train networks were disrupted by flying debris, while there was damage to buildings and homes.
A woman in her 30s died after a tree fell on a car in Haringey, north London, on Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan Police said. It was the first confirmed death in England related to Eunice.
A man in his 50s died in Netherton, Merseyside, after debris struck the windscreen of a vehicle he was travelling in.
Gusts
Another man in his 20s was killed in Alton, Hampshire, after a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter pick-up collided with a tree in Old Odiham Road just before midday.
Earlier, a man in County Wexford, Ireland, was also killed by a falling tree.
A member of the public suffered “serious injuries” after being struck by debris from a roof in Henley-on-Thames.
Two men were also in hospital after being injured in similar, separate incidents in south London.
The Met Office has issued a less severe yellow wind warning for much of the south coast of England and South Wales on Saturday, which it said “could hamper recovery efforts from Storm Eunice”.
Areas affected by the warning could experience more bridge closures, travel delays and further power cuts.
Icy stretches are also expected widely across Northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, with some snow in the regions.
Five flood warnings were also still in place.
Winds of 122mph were provisionally recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight on Friday, which, if verified, would be the highest ever recorded in England.
The previous record was 118mph at Gwennap Head in Cornwall in 1979.
Footage shared online captured planes struggling to land in high winds, damage to the roof of the O2 arena in London, and the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset, crashing to the ground.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2022/feb/19/hundreds-of-thousands-without-power-in-uk-after-storm-eunice-disruption-services
