Storm Eunice tracker RECAP: O2 Arena roof Storm Eunice damage | Met Office weather Red Warning | Big Jet TV

Storm Eunice has been battering the UK throughout Friday causing major damage and traffic disruption.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

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.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A 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

Rail operators warn travel disruption in England is ‘inevitable’

A Network Rail spokesman said disruption is “inevitable” and Welsh services will be suspended for the whole day, while London North East Railway urged customers with tickets for Friday to travel on Saturday instead or get a refund due to expected disruption and damage.

East Midlands Railway said trains to and from London St Pancris “may be withdrawn at short notice”, while National Rail said there would be no trains between Nottingham and Skegness until about 8am.

Northern advised customers “NOT TO TRAVEL across the Northern network”.

Storm Eunice to bring adverse weather and disruption today

The Met Office has alerted the public to brace for wind and snow today across the UK. They have even sent out rare Red Weather Warnings to areas in Wales.

Met Office warn of rare and dangerous weather phenomenon

The forecaster notified the public that a dangerous weather phenomenon known as a sting jet - a small area of highly intense wind inside a storm - could form later on Friday.

Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: “After the impacts from Storm Dudley for many on Wednesday, 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.”

“The red warning areas indicate a significant danger to life as extremely strong winds provide the potential for damage to structures and flying debris.”

Snow causes difficult conditions for Scottish drivers

Motorists are facing difficult driving conditions as Storm Eunice sweeps in bringing heavy snow.

A Met Office weather warning for snow is in place between 3am and 6pm on Friday, while a wind warning encompasses the south-west Scottish borders, including most of Dumfries and Galloway.

Snow is forecast throughout the day for most of mainland Scotland south of Inverness and Fort William, and was disrupting travel on Friday morning.

Leeds was left under a thick blanket of snow. Motorists and pedestrians on Otley Old Road at Cookridge battla against the elements.Leeds was left under a thick blanket of snow. Motorists and pedestrians on Otley Old Road at Cookridge battla against the elements.
Leeds was left under a thick blanket of snow. Motorists and pedestrians on Otley Old Road at Cookridge battla against the elements.

The M8 was closed eastbound at junction five due to the heavy snow and Traffic Scotland tweeted that there were reports of vehicles getting stuck on the A68 near Soutra.

Bear Scotland North West Trunk Roads reported heavy snow across the north-west network, including the A83 Rest And Be Thankful, A82 Glencoe, A85 Glen Ogle, and A889 Catlodge.

Snow falls in Scotland against a backdrop of Edinburgh Castle as Storm Eunice sweeps across the UK

Train services disrupted by Storm Eunice

Despite the snow forecast, ScotRail said it does not expect the same levels of disruption from Storm Eunice as from Storm Dudley but has pre-emptively announced some trains will not be running.

Glasgow and Edinburgh trains to Arbroath and Montrose to Aberdeen services will not run because sets of points on the line that allow trains to move tracks are not fitted with heaters, meaning they could freeze and get stuck.

Network Rail Scotland announced it has five locomotives fitted with snow ploughs to use as required, it is proactively spraying de-icer on key junctions and extra staff will be deployed to deal with any problems.

Mountaineering Scotland warn of potential avalanches

With more than 20cm of snow predicted on higher ground and 5cm elsewhere, Scottish Mountain Rescue warned there was a risk of “dangerous conditions” including the possibility of avalanches.

The organisation’s vice chairman Kev Mitchell said: “The weekend forecast is for very unsettled and, at times, dangerous conditions.

“With the arrival of Storm Eunice on Friday, hills will see high winds and the potential for snowfall to low levels meaning the avalanche forecast will be likely to worsen.

“Good decision-making is key in these situations and often the decision not to go, whilst correct, is the hardest one to make.”

Specialist mountain weather forecasts are predicting sustained periods of gales or hurricane-force winds on higher terrain for the next week, with snow, rain and hail expected most days.

Mountaineering Scotland’s safety adviser Ben Gibson said: “With such extreme weather being forecast it’s important to plan your journeys around conditions rather than just going for long-held ambitions.

“Check the specialist mountain forecasts and what the Scottish Avalanche Information Service says, and take an honest look at your fitness and skill levels - and those of the others in your party - and consider whether your planned route is really attainable or whether you should adapt it or make different plans altogether.”

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.