By Tom Nicholson
PORTHLEVEN, England, (Reuters) – An Atlantic storm battered England and Ireland on Friday with winds of up to 100 miles per hour, prompting warnings from Britain’s weather office that Storm Eunice could sow significant disruption, tear off roofs and hammer London.
Eunice, which brewed in the central Atlantic and was spun up from the Azores towards Europe by the jet stream, has extreme wind speeds that pose a danger to life, Britain’s Meteorological Office said.
The storm hit England’s western coast, making landfall in Cornwall, a Reuters reporter said.
“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,” Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said.
“The red warning area indicates a significant danger to life as extremely strong winds provide the potential for damage to structures and flying debris.”
The Met Office warned flying debris from gusts could result in danger to life, blow off roofs, uproot trees and close roads, disrupt train services and ground planes. A Red warning is also in place for southwestern England.
Such warnings are relatively rare. The last one issued was in November 2021.
Britain’s security minister, Damian Hinds, said troops were on standby to deal with the consequences of the weather.
“Everybody is on a state of readiness, a state of alert,” Hinds said.
(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Kate Holton)
