UPDATE ON MONDAY, 21st FEBRUARY BY UK POWER NETWORKS
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Because of the recovery effort involved after the recent storms, the tree-maintenance work (with consequent planned power-cuts) planned for tomorrow (Tuesday) on Church Road has been postponed. Please pass this on to anyone you know who might have been affected.
UPDATE ISSUED BY MET OFFICE ON SUNDAY, 20th FEBRUARY AT 09:50
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YELLOW WARNING for East of England
Wind between 12:00 today and 13:00 (1pm) tomorrow:
Winds are likely to strengthen across England and Wales on Sunday, as an increasingly squally band of rain moves south-eastwards. Gusts of 55-60 mph are expected widely around south and west-facing coasts, but possibly also briefly inland. …
[We wouldn't normally highlight (the lowest) Yellow Warnings, but the County Council's Joint Emergency Planning unit also report this morning that "despite the best efforts of the Suffolk Highways Teams there continue to be some Storm Eunice-related incidents which have yet to be cleared, but they are working to clear this as quickly and safely as possible. The continued bad weather is continuing to cause disruption with trees etc already weakened by the passing of Storm Eunice coming down." Above was Sternfield Road (just beyond the Church) before the tree was cleared enough to pass, below shows some damage to the church roof. Images thanks to Brian Boulton.
Should further power cuts occur, you can report them by calling ☏ 105 — don't assume that others have already reported in, as disruption may be quite local to you. During widespread power cuts, UKPN may be able to update you by text if you first text "POWER " and your postcode to them at 80876, for example "POWER IP17 1XX". We always have links at the top of our «My Life & Safety» webpage, and under «Power Cuts?» on our «Contacts» page.]
UPDATE ISSUED BY MET OFFICE ON FRIDAY, 18th FEBRUARY AT 03:44
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RED WARNING for East of England
Wind between 10:00 and 15:00 on Fri 18 Feb 2022:
Storm Eunice causing significant disruption and dangerous conditions due to extremely strong winds on Friday.
What to expect —
● Flying debris resulting in DANGER TO LIFE
● Damage to buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down
● Roads, bridges and railway lines closed, with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights
● Power cuts affecting other services, such as mobile phone coverage
● Large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and homes
Extremely strong west to south-westerly winds will develop mid-morning on Friday, transferring eastwards across southern and south-east England through the middle of the day, then slowly easing from the west during the afternoon. Gusts of 60-70 mph are likely widely, perhaps briefly 80 mph in a few places, mainly on English Channel coasts.
[For us here, the highest winds will pick up mid-morning until late afternoon, as per the BBC's local forecast from 09:00 below. 'Nuff said … ]
© BBC
ORIGINALLY POSTED ON WEDNESDAY, 16th FEBRUARY
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An update on the expected Storm Dudley/Storm Eunice weather from the Suffolk Resilience Forum's Met Office adviser
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Note that, looking ahead, we also now have an AMBER warning for Friday (03:00 – 21:00) covering all of Suffolk. The Forum had a brief teleconference yesterday, but at that stage it was agreed that no response action was required.
Across the East of England we remain on course to see the risk of damaging winds during this week – and perhaps the strongest winds on Friday since back in October 2013 and the Saint Jude Storm.
[The Suffolk Resilience Forum (SRF) is a multi-agency group that provides strategic / tactical and operational guidance and support on the planning for the multi-agency response to a major incident. Ultimately, it advises and supports the response of our own Snape Emergency Planning Team. We did have some local power outages and damage in 2013. Friday's warning includes the possibility of "DANGER TO LIFE".]
STORM DUDLEY, today (Wednesday) 13:00 until tomorrow (Thursday) 06:00
Our first bout of severe gales come from Storm Dudley’s strongest winds later today and tonight, when there is the potential for disruption associated with westerly gusts of 50 to 60mph and potentially 60 to 70mph.
A YELLOW Warning for Wind for many parts of our region, is now valid from 13:00 today until 06:00 Thursday, bringing a Low Likelihood of Medium Impacts which means that:
● road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible, as well as some roads and bridges may close;
● damage to trees and buildings is possible;
● power cuts may occur;
● large waves may cause beach material to be thrown onto sea fronts and coastal roads.
For our region, it is as some showery rain arrives from the north-west during Wednesday evening, then overnight into the early hours of Thursday when the winds perhaps peak, and those severe gale force gusts are possible.
After the very windy start to Thursday, less windy conditions are expected – but not for long. Overnight Thursday and into early Friday, winds increase once again as Storm Eunice arrives during Friday morning.
STORM EUNICE, Friday 03:00 until 21:00 (9pm)
With Storm Eunice looking set to rattle through central areas of the UK, for our region, this means there is a risk of south-west, then westerly, severe gales or storm-force winds developing, and an increasing likelihood of widespread inland wind-gusts of 60 to 70mph.
In a few locations, gusts up to 80 mph are possible for a time.
A Met Office AMBER Warning of Wind has now been issued for Storm Eunice and is valid from 03:00 until 21:00 on Friday. This warning covers southern areas of the UK, including all of the East of England — and now brings a Medium Likelihood and of High Impacts, which means that:
● there is a good chance that flying debris could result in a DANGER TO LIFE;
● damage to buildings and homes is likely, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down;
● roads, bridges and railway lines are likely to close, with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights;
● there is a good chance that power cuts, possibly prolonged, could occur and possibly affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage;
● large waves are likely and beach material is likely to be thrown onto exposed sea fronts, coastal roads and properties;
● it is likely there will be falling branches and some uprooted trees.
Meanwhile, expect some rain and showers during Friday – and should the track of Storm Eunice be further south, then we may see some sleet or snow falling just for a time.
OVER THE WEEKEND
Winds associated with Storm Eunice are expected to ease late on Friday, with the coming weekend still looking likely that it will remain very windy, with winds still reaching 40 to 50mph at times, along with spells of rain or showers.
Regards, Chris
Chris Blackman
Senior Emergency Planning Officer
Suffolk Joint Emergency Planning Unit