Flooding SUBMERGES stations as Britain blasted by strong winds amid Eunice clean-up

THE UK is currently battling against strong winds and the UK’s weather situation looks set to become a lot worse.

The UK will be covered by a yellow weather warning today between midday and 3pm on Monday following Storm Eunice.

Winds are likely to strengthen across England and Wales ahead of a band of rain, which itself will turn increasingly squally.

The news comes as a massive clean-up has begun today after Storm Eunice brought widespread damage, disruption and record-breaking 122mph gusts of wind to the UK – leading to the deaths of at least four people.

The treacherous conditions led to travel chaos, flight cancellations, power cuts and police forces being inundated with calls.

Train networks were plagued by flying debris – and there was extensive damage to buildings and homes with the roof of the O2 ripped off.

Read our weather live blog for the latest on Storm Eunice…

• How windy will Storm Franklin be?

  After the strong winds of Storm Eunice, this week should be calmer.

  Storm Franklin is unlikely to reach the gusts of 122mph that Storm Eunice did but will still be windy.

  The highest winds will be over Northern Ireland and the coasts of northwest England and southwest Scotland.

  Winds speeds of 75mph are set to be the highest and have mainly taken place overnight on Sunday.

• Explained: How long will Storm Franklin last?

  The storm hit on Sunday, February 20, 2022, bringing with it heavy rainfall.

  The warnings for Storm Franklin are in place until 1pm on Monday, February 21.

  These are Yellow Warnings for wind as much of the heavy rain fell over the weekend.

  The Met Office believes that the rain should ease over the week but could bring some snow.

  Storm Franklin is set to calm down Monday afternoon although the weather will still be rainy and windy for the rest of the week.

• Conditions set to ease

  Meteorologist Craig Snell told Sun Online conditions will finally ease next week.

  “It’ll be blustery as we go through the week, but everything looks a little bit more typical for this time of year,” he said.

  “It’ll be windy, but at the moment, there aren’t any warnings past Monday, and we’re certainly not looking at naming more storms in the days to come.

  “After we get rid of Franklin, it’ll still be windy, but hopefully not on the same scale as the past few days.

  “It’s certainly been very, very unsettled recently.

  “This has been a very notable spread of weather.”

• Pictured: Chaos as Storm Franklin batters through Britain

  The latest weather misery comes after ferocious Storm Eunice killed four people and plunged 1.3m homes into darkness on Friday, and Storm Dudley wrecked homes and cars last week.

  It’s the first time since significant storms were given names back in 2015 that three have followed in such a short space of time.

  Intense downpours have already caused dangerous flooding in some parts overnight.

   

• BREAKING: Dartford crossing closed due to Storm Franklin

  RUSH hour traffic has been plunged into chaos with delays building up after the Dartford Crossing was forced shut amid Storm Franklin battering the UK.

  Two lanes on the M25 Dartford Crossing have closed between junctions 1A A206 and J31 A103G, for Lakeside/Purfleet.

  RUSH hour traffic has been plunged into chaos with delays building up after the Dartford Crossing was forced shut amid Storm Franklin battering the UK.

  Two lanes on the M25 Dartford Crossing have closed between junctions 1A A206 and J31 A103G, for Lakeside/Purfleet.

  The right-hand tunnel at Dartford is being used as a diversion for traffic developing for the QE2 Bridge.

  The left-hand tunnel remains open, with mounting traffic and queues either way because of the closure.

  Congestion has also been reported to Junction two of the M25 and delays from A2 stretch back to Northfleet, adding to journey times.

• Storm Franklin to bring ‘severe & damaging gusts’

  Franklin, an 800-mile wide squall, will bring “severe and damaging gusts” and torrential downpours, The Met Office warned.

  An amber warning for wind was in place across Northern Ireland from midnight until 7am. It has now lapsed.

  Yellow warnings cover the whole of England and Wales and parts of Scotland until 1pm on Monday.

  Intense downpours have already caused dangerous flooding in some parts overnight.

  There are currently two rare “severe” flood warnings in place near the River Mersey – alongside 315 other flood alerts.

• Brits told ‘do NOT travel today’

  BRITS have been urged not to travel today as Storm Franklin brings ‘danger to life’ flooding, heavy rain, hail and 80mph gales.

  A tornado warning is in place as the third devastating storm in just five days slammed into the UK overnight.

  This morning, National Rail has told people to avoid rail travel if possible today – and say that even when services resume, there’ll be “major disruption” to routes “across most of Great Britain”.

  Almost every rail company in the country, including the Heathrow Express, Stansted Express, Cross Country and Thameslink, says its trains will be affected.

• London forecast for today

  A very windy and cloudy morning, with a few showery outbreaks of rain.

  Becoming drier and brighter in the afternoon, as winds gradually ease. Maximum temperature 11 °C.

• UK forecast for today

  Strong and gusty winds along with outbreaks of rain clearing through the morning, followed by sunny spells and scattered showers.

  Cloud and rain into far west through the evening.

• Will Storm Franklin be as bad as Storm Eunice?

  The storm arrives with much of the UK still recovering from Storm Eunice, but Franklin is not expected to be as severe.

  Wind gusts from Storm Franklin are expected to be lower than Eunice which triggered two Red Weather Warnings.

  The run of terrible weather began with Storm Dudley on Wednesday.

  Ferocious Storm Eunice killed four and plunged 1.3m homes into darkness on Friday.

  Meteorologist Becky Mitchell said three named storms in such quick succession is a first since the system was introduced seven years ago.

  “It’s the first time we’ve had three named storms within a week, and we started the storm-naming system in 2015,” she said.

  “We’ve got a really active jet stream, which is why we’re seeing so many storms track right towards the UK.”

• When will Storm Franklin hit the UK?

  Storm Franklin, an 800-mile wide squall, will bring “severe and damaging gusts” across Northern Ireland this morning.

  An amber warning is in place from midnight.

  Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna shared a warning from the Tornado and Storm Research Organisation on Twitter, telling followers: “Although a very low risk, a tornado or two is possible associated with today’s squally cold front.”

  The storm will bring two inches of snow to the north.

• Wolves forced to close part of Molineux stand during kick off

  WOLVES were forced to move some fans from one of the stands at Molineux after the stormy weather impacted their clash with Leicester.

  An announcement over the tannoy in the opening minutes of the game insisted it was due to safety reasons.

  The club also apologised and urged supporters to be patient while they found new seats for them.

  They then went on to say later in the first half that the issue was “wind related” and that “anyone affected has been found a different seat”.

  Storm Eunice has meant the weekend’s Premier League action has been played in horrid conditions.

  And it was lashing it down the rain as Wolves and Leicester got underway on Sunday afternoon.

   

• Make sure your doors and windows are properly sealed

  Making sure your windows and doors are sealed can make sure that moisture does not seep through any cracks.

  Ross Counsell, a chartered surveyor and director of regulated property buyers Good Move says explains: “This prevents any damage to the interior of your home, and also minimises any mould or mildew damage.

  “Windows should be at least double-glazed to give a further barrier of protection, and make sure to use rubber weather-stripping to fill spaces between the sides and bottom of your door and the door frame.”

• 83,000 People around the UK are still without power

  More than 83,000 people around the UK are still without power after the worst winter tempest in a generation.

  The Met Office has issued a slew of weather warnings for today and tomorrow, with millions facing misery from high winds as they travel to work on Monday.

  Forecasters say blasts will cause even more power cuts, transport delays and damage.

• Hundreds of homes evacuated in Britain’s worst run of storms

  It’s the first time on record that three named tempests have happened within just days of each other – with unusually ferocious Storm Eunice killing four and plunging 1.3million homes into darkness.

  Storm Franklin, an 800-mile wide squall, will bring “severe and damaging gusts” this morning.

  An amber warning was in place from midnight.

  Two inches of snow will fall in some northern postcodes, while in Manchester, locals are being forced from their homes amid fears the River Mersey will flood at East and West Didsbury.

  Manchester City Council confirmed 460 households are being told to leave urgently.

• What to expect from Monday’s warning

  • Flying debris is likely and could lead to Injuries or danger to life
  • Probably some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, along with trees/branches being brought down
  • Longer journey times and cancellations likely, as road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected
  • Some roads and bridges likely to close

• Gales of up to 80mph in some parts of England expected

  Meteorologists have warned we could see gales of up to 80mph in some parts of England.

  Greg Dewhurst of the Met Office said today will be “another windy day across the UK”.

  “This will have an impact on the clearing up process over the course of the day,” he said.

  The winds pick up significantly later in the day on Sunday.