Storm Eunice: Red 'dangerous' weather warning issued as UK hit with gusts up to 100mph | UK News | Sky News

A rare red weather warning has been issued for Storm Eunice as it looks set to batter the UK with gusts of up to 100mph.

The warning has been issued from 7am to 12pm on Friday for along the coastline of Devon and Cornwall as well as the south coast of Wales as extremely strong winds are predicted.

It warns of "flying debris resulting in danger to life" and "damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down."

Emergency COBRA meeting as Eunice heads towards UK - live weather updates

The highest level of alert for southwest England comes after the Met Office upgraded its "danger to life" amber alert covering almost the whole of England - warning of more outages, flooding and travel chaos on the roads and train lines.

A "stay indoors" alert was already in place as Storm Eunice approaches, with stronger winds than Storm Dudley, heavy snow and blizzard conditions in places.

No rail services in Wales tomorrow

All trains in Wales will be cancelled as a result on Friday as Storm Eunice hits the UK.

A Network Rail spokeswoman told Sky News the move would come into force from "the close of traffic" tonight.

Train services will be suspended for the whole day, with disruption likely to continue into the weekend, so that more than 1,000 miles of track can be checked and cleared of debris and fallen trees.

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Emergency COBRA meeting taking place

Forecasters have warned Eunice will be more damaging than Dudley, which left tens of thousands of homes without power, downed trees, disrupted travel services and caused flooding in areas.

The Met Office said a red warning means "dangerous weather is expected" with it "very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure".

People are also advised to avoid travelling where possible with Storm Eunice predicted to cause significant disruption and dangerous conditions.

A COBRA emergency meeting - spearheaded by Cabinet Office Minister Michael Ellis - will meet on Thursday "to discuss the response to Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice", the government said.

Check the forecast in your area

Yellow wind and snow warnings in place too

Storm Eunice will move in on Friday, bringing potentially damaging winds to the south and snow to the north.

The Met Office has issued yellow and amber warnings for wind and snow through to Friday evening.

An amber wind warning covers Wales and central and southern England, where gusts will widely reach 60-70mph on Friday, with up to 100mph possible in some spots.

A yellow wind and snow warning covers northern parts of the UK.

Read more: What is a sting jet and how could it make Storm Eunice deadly?

Storm Dudley outages, travel chaos and damage

On Wednesday, Storm Dudley winds hit 81mph in Capel Curig in North Wales, while Emley Moore in West Yorkshire recorded 74mph.

Tens of thousands of households suffered power outages during the storm.

Northern Powergrid, which maintains electricity networks across northern England, said about 19,000 homes and businesses were impacted and it was working to reconnect 1,000 properties which still had no lights on Thursday morning due to the weather.

A parked car in Salford was crushed after strong winds blew bricks off the side of a house on to it.

No one was in the vehicle at the time but police and fire crews were called to the scene.

In Cardiff, a train named after NHS fundraiser Captain Tom Moore hit a trampoline blown on to the track.

Coastal areas such as Blackpool also saw choppy seas and large waves, with authorities warning people not to take risks to get a dramatic selfie.

How often are red warnings issued?

Red warnings are issued rarely: the last one was in November 2021 ahead of the arrival of Storm Arwen, which saw very strong winds batter areas on the east coast of Scotland and northeast coast of England.

Before then - several were issued across the UK in late February and early March 2018 during the so-called "Beast from the East". The winter storm brought widespread heavy snow and freezing temperatures.

Call for emergency support plan

Ministers have been urged to ensure the COBRA meeting results in an emergency support plan to deal with power cuts.

Liberal Democrat communities spokesman, Tim Farron, said: "Whenever a storm hits, the government is disgracefully unprepared to support the thousands of people affected, they never learn from their mistakes.

"This time, as people up and down the country are barraged by stormy weather, the government must be on hand to provide support.

"The COBRA meeting must agree on an emergency support plan including providing food, emergency accommodation and electricity generators for those affected by any power cuts."