Storm Eleanor lashes UK with 97mph hurricane winds and flooding leaving thousands without power and commuters facing travel misery
BRITS face travel misery this morning as Storm Eleanor hits with "hurricane force" 97mph winds bringing devastating flooding.
Thousands of homes have been left without power and buildings have been badly damaged in severe winds as forecasters warned of a “danger to life” from flying debris.
Cars have been stranded in flooded roads across the UK after rivers burst their banks and coastal areas were hit by massive tidal surges.
A yellow warning has been issued for Northern Ireland, England, Wales and the southern fringes of Scotland lasting into tonight as the Met Office warned of public transport disruption, closed bridges, power cuts, phone outages and freak waves.
In the South West, families are stacking sandbags against their front doors in a desperate bid to stop sea water flooding their homes as the Environment Agency issued an urgent 30ft wave warning and several major A-roads were blocked.
Elsewhere a number of roads — including parts of major motorways — were closed last night due to fallen trees and overturned lorries as motorists were warned to avoid all but essential travel.
Eleanor's wrath: Major road links affected overnight by high winds from Storm Eleanor
Some of the country's travel links that have been affected as Storm Eleanor brought high winds to the UK.
- M25 - A large tree fell on to the clockwise carriageway between junctions 17 and 18, temporarily halting all traffic. Orbital partially reopened as teams removed the obstacle.
- M5 - Northbound carriageway closed between junctions six and five due to overturned vehicle.
- A1M - Northbound lane closure at junction four after vehicle overturned on sliproad.
- M48 - The Severn Crossing between Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire closed between junctions one and two due to high winds. Motorists advised to use the M4 Second Severn Crossing for South Wales.
- A14 - Closed in both directions between junctions 56 and 57 due to high winds on the Orwell Bridge. Traffic diverted through Ipswich.
In England nearly 2,000 homes were hit by power cuts mainly in the Midlands, as well as around 700 in the South West and 460 in Wales.
Around 22,000 houses in Northern Ireland and scores more in England were affected by power cuts.
Northern Ireland Electricity Networks said it restored supply to 10,000 properties but another 12,000 would be without power last night.
A spokesman said: "It's very difficult to make repairs because we have to think about the safety of our employees, most repairs will start at first light."
The Environment Agency issued 65 flood warnings and dozens of alerts across the country.
The Dartford Crossing bridge was closed overnight on Tuesday due to the dangerous wind speeds and was due to reopen in time for this morning's rush hour.
Vince Crane, of the AA, advised drivers to take extra care in the worsening conditions.
He said: "Road conditions can quickly deteriorate during very heavy rainfall, with drains becoming swamped or blocked and standing water causing surface spray, reduced visibility and potentially leading to flooding.
"Drivers will need to take extra care and expect delays, even on motorways.
"Strong or sudden gusts of wind are more likely on open stretches of road, when passing bridges or gaps in hedges, or when overtaking high-sided vehicles."
Gusts of nearly 100mph were recorded near Connaught airport in Mayo, Ireland, while the highest recorded winds in Britain hit Aberdaron in West Wales reaching 76mph.
London experienced gusts of 60mph with the winds threatening to cause havoc for commuters this morning.
Danger to life: Met Office issues Yellow weather warning for 60 million Brits
Storm Eleanor to bring very strong winds later Tuesday, continuing overnight and on Wednesday.
The warning has been adjusted to bring the northern boundary southwards, and to combine with the warning previously in force for Wednesday.
Public transport may be disrupted or canceled and some bridges are likely to be closed.
Power cuts and disruption to other services (mobile phones for example) may also occur, while injuries from flying debris are possible.
Combined with a period of high tides, it is likely that some western coastal communities will be affected by large waves and spray, and again there is a chance that injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves, or beach material being thrown on to seafronts and coastal properties.
The Met Office Yellow warning which covers around 60million Brits told of a risk of "injuries and danger to life" from flying debris and large waves along the western coast.
Meteorologist Emma Sharples said: "There is likely to be some disruption possibly to public transport, bridges and other public services such as mobile phones and people need to be aware that there could be debris as well."
Flood duty manager Neil Davies said: "We urge people to ... take extreme care on coastal paths and promenades, and don't put yourself in unnecessary danger trying to take 'storm selfies'."
In Wales, people have been advised to keep a safe distance from the sea as Natural Resources Wales (NRW) issued a series of flood warnings for the south-east, south-west and north coasts.
Ceri Jones, from NRW, said: "Large waves could overtop defences and throw up debris - this could easily cause injury or knock you off your feet."
It comes after a woman holidaymaker was swept out to sea while walking in Cornwall on New Year's Day.
After an air-sea search she was helicoptered to hospital where she is critically ill in intensive care.
Forecasters have been warning about such extreme conditions - including a combination of high tides and strong winds - as Eleanor becomes the latest storm to lash Britain.
The River Thames burst its banks in West London - leaving several cars stranded in Putney and roads under water in Chiswick.
Heavy rain also led to flooding in Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and West Lothian as the storm approached.
Last night residents were hit by flooding in County Kerry and County Cork, Ireland, which saw winds close to 100mph.
The Met Office said gusts of 80-90mph were possible on the Irish Sea coast of the UK and 70mph was "likely quite widely". Gusts of 60mph are predicted inland.
The latest warnings come just days after the country was hit by Storm Dylan on New Year's Eve.
A kite surfer walks along West Wittering beach in West Sussex
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