An amber weather warning is in force for Shropshire as Storm Eunice is set to bring wind speeds of 50-60mph, with gusts possibly reaching up to 80mph.
The Shropshire area is covered by a Met Office amber warning highlighting a risk of high impacts such as disruption to power, travel and other services. Damage is also likely for buildings and trees. The amber warning will be in force until 9pm tonight.
The weekend will see further strong winds, but not as severe.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders 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. Gusts of between 70-80mph could be seen for most within the amber warning area.”
Flood defences have been deployed in the Frankwell area of Shrewsbury with flood alerts in force for the Severn Vyrnwy confluence, River Severn in Shropshire, Upper Teme, Rea Brook, Cound Brook, Ledwyche Brook, River Rea, Tern and Perry catchments and River Dee catchment in England from Whitchurch to Chester.
Flood defences in Ironbridge are ready to be deployed if necessary.
We are being urged to only travel if necessary, a number of schools in the Shropshire Council area are closed.
Transport for Wales has suspended services on its network for today, with disruption likely to continue into the weekend so that over 1000 miles of track can be checked and cleared of debris and fallen trees. There will be no replacement road transport supplied.
West Midlands Railway is urging passengers not to travel.
Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin’s Tactical Co-ordination Group, the multi-agency group who respond to local incidents, are fully prepared for Storm Eunice.
Emergency services and local response teams are prepared for the significant impact of the storm.
Chair of the Tactical Co-ordination Group, Superintendent Stuart Bill, said:
“Local agencies met to anticipate the disruption that might be caused by Storm Eunice in Shropshire. There are response plans in place and we are working closely together with partners to ensure we are adequately prepared.
“We expect a period of strong winds until 3pm today. The strength of the winds will likely be around 50-60mph but we could possibly see 70-80mph across Shropshire.
“Winds of this speed could bring down a lot of trees and we may see damage to homes and infrastructure, along with transport issues. We would appeal to all residents to consider if your journey is necessary today. We also ask drivers to drive with extra care, particularly on open roads which may experience wind gusts.
“Highways teams will be working hard to clear road closures and fallen trees. We would ask local residents for patience as we expect to respond to a high number of incidents due to the weather.
“We are also mindful of the impact of the weather across Wales. Once the wind has died down, the rainfall over the weekend might also bring flooding to our roads and rivers. Please drive with care and do not drive through flood water.
“Strong wind may bring down power lines which can affect power supplies to households and businesses. If you need to contact the Western Power team, you can call 105.
“Individual schools may choose to close due to the adverse conditions.”
Shropshire Council says it has also put additional resources on standby to help deal with the effects of the storm.
Dean Carroll, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for physical infrastructure, said:
“We know that Storm Eunice has the potential to have significant impacts across the county and may result in trees coming down, damage to properties and temporary loss of power if powerlines are affected. So please do ensure you take every precaution to stay safe.
“Shropshire Council has put additional resources on standby to help deal with the expected effects of the storm. However, due to the expected strength of the winds it may not be safe for teams to respond to all incidents immediately. Equally we will need to prioritise our responses. Please only report issues to us if it is an emergency and requires an immediate response.”
Telford & Wrekin Council is also urging residents in its area to take extra care as Storm Eunice is set to cause disruption.
Councillor Richard Overton, Telford & Wrekin Council’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Enforcement and Transport said:
“Following the amber Met Office warning, we’re not certain of the overall impact of the storm and how hard it will hit the borough, but we want to make residents aware of potential impacts and do everything we can to minimise disruption.
“With gusts of winds like this, we expect to see instances of branches and trees being brought down, power lines affected and debris on roads which we will work to remove as quickly as possible.
“As a result, we’re likely to see some temporary road closures as well as some disruption to rail networks and bus routes.
“The gusty nature of the winds will make for difficult driving conditions and outside the borough motorways will have speed restrictions in place. There is also a strong possibility that there could be damage to some buildings and structures.
“We would advise residents to check their gardens and ensure bins and other loose items such as trampolines are secured.
“Storms like this usually impact at night but as this will start in the early hours, of Friday morning, we advise people to think carefully about their journeys during the day and consider that they may experience delays.
“We are urging all everyone to take extra care and follow the latest weather updates.”
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