Parts of the country have been battered by Storm Dudley in the past 24-hours, but the Met Office has warned that Storm Eunice is set to roll in overnight, bringing powerful 100mph winds along with it.
Putting in place a new ‘Amber’ warning ahead of the storm, the Met Office warns that London and many other areas in the UK will face extreme weather this Friday, February 18, with experts predicting it could be the worst storm the country has faced in 30 years.
The warning states that “significant disruption” will be caused as a result of the strong winds, with damage to buildings and homes likely in some parts of the country and flying debris expected to cause a “danger to life”. The Met Office also predicts that transport across the country will be affected and that there is a “good chance” of power cuts.
Speaking to The Mirror, a Met Office forecaster said: “With the wind gusts we are forecasting at the moment, we’ve only seen a handful of storms in the past 30 years that have brought similar gusts. It’s got the potential to be up there as quite a notable storm.
“Winds are likely to be 60 to 70mph inland across the south of the UK. It’s quite unusual, we don’t see gusts that high over such a wide area in the south. The Burns Day Storm brought similar gusts.”
Forecasters are continuing to monitor the storm, however, the UK could be faced with a rare “red warning” as more insights come in. The last storm of this predicted magnitude – the Burns Day Storm of 1990 – caused 47 deaths and significant damage.