UK Braces for ‘Storm Eunice’ and Hurricane-Strength Gusts on Friday

Britain’s Met Office issued a rare red weather warning for parts of the UK, saying hurricane-strength gusts of 90 miles (145 kilometers) an hour are set to hit the country on Friday.

The weather service said the most dangerous winds are likely to affect the southwest coast with damaging gusts expected inland too. The Energy Networks Association is advising people to prepare for possible blackouts by charging their phones and keeping a torch ready.

“Storm Eunice will bring damaging gusts in what could be one of the most impactful storms to affect southern and central parts of the UK for a few years,” said Frank Sanders, chief meteorologist at the Met Office.

It will be the second significant storm to sweep through Europe in three days. Day-ahead power prices dropped as the strong winds help provide short-term relief to an energy crunch driven by surging gas costs. Severe wind storms are likely to become more common in Northern Europe as global temperatures rise, according to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Rare Red Weather Warning Issued #StormEunice will bring extremely strong winds across parts of Southwest England and south Wales
Friday 0700 – 1200
Latest info https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs
Advice https://t.co/JFRa8CtfWY
Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/m46eseAXoV
— Met Office (@metoffice) Feb. 17, 2022

The double-barreled storms will make clean-up and repairs difficult and could lead to widespread power outages and travel delays, said Alyssa Smithmyer, a meteorologist with U.S.-based commercial forecaster AccuWeather Inc. London will likely see the worst of the winds Friday afternoon with gusts approaching 80 mph, she said.

Almost all of the thousands of UK homes that had power supplies cut off by Storm Dudley on Wednesday have been reconnected, according to the Energy Networks Association.

Rail companies across Britain were warning of service disruptions for Friday, according to National Rail’s website. People are being urged not to drive but to stay at home where possible.

Parts of Scotland could get as much as 12 inches of snow from the storm and high winds could create blizzard conditions there, as well as in parts of Ireland and England, Smithmyer said. The gusty weather is pushing U.K. wind production to near record levels of 19.6 gigawatts on Thursday, according to data from utility Drax Plc.

The Met Office’s red warning indicates a significant danger to life as extremely strong winds threaten damage to structures and flying debris.

In Paris, wind gusts could reach 80 mph late Friday as the storm heads across northern Europe, bringing heavy snow to parts of Denmark, Germany and Poland, as well as Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia through the weekend.

Photograph: People view the waves created by high winds and spring tides hitting the sea wall at New Brighton promenade on Feb. 17, 2022 in Liverpool, England. A red alert has been declared for Storm Eunice which is arriving in the early hours of Friday in the wake of Storm Dudley. Photo credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.

Topics Catastrophe Natural Disasters Windstorm Europe Hurricane