Worst storm in decades grinds Britain to a halt: Chaos as scores of flights and trains are cancelled

Chaos is expected today when Storm Eunice batters the country with winds up to 100mph – as Britons are told to cancel plans and stay home instead of travelling. 

Forecasters fear it will be the worst storm to hit the UK in 30 years – as lorry, caravan and motorbike drivers are warned to stay off motorways and Jake Kelly, from Network rail, told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme passengers are ‘very very strongly advised not to travel’. 

Trains and flights have been cancelled after National Highways and the Met Office issued a severe weather alert for strong winds covering motorways and some A roads in England from 6am to 6pm. 

Eastern Airways axed its London-Gatwick service and Exeter Airport has cancelled three domestic flights. Some 80 British Airways flights in and out of Heathrow and London City have been cancelled, while Scottish airline LoganAir cancelled 32 – all flights serving England and Wales. 

British Airways’ cancelled flights include 44 serving London Heathrow Airport and 36 serving London City Airport in UK.

National Highways said there is a ‘particularly high risk’ that high-sided vehicles and other ‘vulnerable’ vehicles such as caravans and motorbikes could be blown over. Those using such vehicles were told not to travel on bridges, viaducts and exposed highways throughout England.  

Four ferry services between Rosslare in south-east Ireland and Pembroke, South Wales, were cancelled by Irish Ferries, as Stena Line cancelled several sailings on routes between Belfast and Cairnryan in Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland, and Dublin and Holyhead in North Wales.

Millions were last night told to remain indoors, work from home, cancel travel plans and stay away from the coast as the storm, which carries a threat to life warning in southwest England and Wales, began to sweep across Britain. 

Meteorologist Ryan Maue has warned that Eunice could bring ‘hurricane-like’ winds to the UK as Darren Bett, a BBC weather forecaster, said ‘don’t be fooled there is some much windier weather to come’.

Simon Calder, the Independent’s travel editor, told BBC Breakfast ‘if you are in England and Wales do not try and travel by train’. He added that Wales was the first UK nation to ever cancel its entire train network, amid fears debris could cause a serious crash later today were trains to run. 

The Environment Agency’s Roy Stokes warned Britons to ‘sit tight for the day’ and ‘don’t travel if you don’t need to’. He told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme: ‘Please do not go anywhere near coastal defences to coastlines. You are only putting yourself and emergency services in danger.’

Britons are today being urged to stay at home as forecasters fear Storm Eunice will be the worst to hit the UK in 30 years – as lorry, caravan and motorbike drivers are warned to stay off motorways. Pictured, Birmingham City Centre 

Jake Kelly, from Network rail , told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme passengers are ‘very very strongly advised not to travel’. Pictured, cancelled train from Birmingham New Street 

Trains and flights have been cancelled after National Highways and the Met Office issued a severe weather alert for strong winds. Pictured, the list of cancelled flights from London City Airport

Transport for London (TfL) urged people to avoid non-essential travel in the capital. A spokeswoman said: ‘Due to the Met Office’s red warning over Storm Eunice, customers are advised to only travel if essential, and those who need to should check before they travel using our website and the TfL Go app.

‘We are doing all we can to ensure we are prepared for any impact with extra staff ready to respond quickly to any incidents, but some services will be affected by the extreme weather.

‘We are also urging Londoners to please take care if they travel around the city.’

Experts are concerned the conditions could create an extremely dangerous weather phenomenon known as the ‘sting jet’ – a narrow, focused region of exceptionally strong and destructive wind.

It would be the first instance of such an event since the Great Storm of 1987 as Boris Johnson yesterday said the Army was on standby to help those affected.

Families have been warned to expect falling trees, flying debris, severe flooding, roofs blown off and downed power lines. There are also fears of blocked roads and rail routes, disruption to flights and the threat of 40ft waves on Britain’s shores.

Forecasters are especially worried because the storm is hitting during the morning rush hour – and in heavily populated areas.

Last night, much of the country began closing down in anticipation of its arrival. Some rail and bus networks announced they would shut completely. 

This morning a train due to arrive in Paddington from Bristol this morning was more than 40 minutes late, while others – to Didcot Parkway and Bristol Temple Meads – were cancelled. 

London has been put on red alert for Storm Eunice as the Met Office issued the most extreme weather warning for the capital and south east – with a 100mph ‘sting jet’ tempest expected to hit. Right, on Saturday there will be a yellow warning over the south west of England and Wales

A flight lands in high winds in Bristol airport Friday morning as wind speeds continued to pick up through the day

Roads in central London were deserted this morning as Britons were urged to stay home and away from deadly flying debris

London’s Waterloo Station was empty on Friday morning as Britons work from home to stay away from the storm

London’s Waterloo Station had just a smattering of passengers making their journeys on Friday morning

A ferry braved the weather to arrive into Dover from Calais early Friday morning before the worst of the storm hit

British Airways said in a statement: ‘Like other airlines, we’re expecting extreme weather conditions at airports across the UK as a result of Storm Eunice, which will cause significant disruption.

‘Safety is our number one priority, and we’re cancelling a number of flights.

‘We’re doing everything we can to minimise disruption for our customers, including putting on larger aircraft where possible and providing a range of flexible rebooking options.

‘We’d like to thank customers for their patience and advise them to check the latest flight information on our website before heading to the airport.’

Jet2 has delayed a couple of flights to Tenerife and Turkey, which may fly later this afternoon once the worst of the storm has passed. 

Heathrow Airport wrote on Twitter: ‘High winds and poor weather may cause last-minute delays, but we will do everything in our power to minimise any disruption that results.’

Train firms on the East and West Coast main line, including LNER, Grand Central and Avanti West Coast, all say passengers booked to travel today can switch to other days without penalty.

Rail passengers who do try to make journeys today face much slower trips, with emergency speed restrictions in place and sharply reduced services. Widespread flight disruption is also expected.

East Midlands Railway has advised that trains to and from London St Pancras ‘may be withdrawn at short notice’ due to Storm Eunice.

A commuter walks to work in the snow in Burnopfield, County Durham this morning as Storm Eunice arrives in the UK

Cars drive through snow in Eastfield North Lanarkshire as Storm Eustice hit Scotland on Friday morning

The A66 Motorway is closed from Scotch Corner to Penrith due to Snow and high winds, cutting off a main route between Country Durham and Cumbria

Vehicles are pictured travelling on the M8 at Harthill as Storm Eunice hits Scotland with yellow weather warning

A cyclist rides along a road in falling snow near Edinburgh Castle as Storm Eunice sweeps across the UK

‘You should only travel if your journey is unavoidable,’ the firm added on Twitter.

National Rail said there would be no trains between Nottingham and Skegness until about 8am, and Northern said it was advising customers ‘NOT TO TRAVEL across the Northern network’.

Mr Kelly, of Network Rail, added: ‘It’s going to be a very difficult day. Fundamentally it’s right to expect lots of trees will be blown down and there’ll be other damage. There will be a lot of disruption. 

‘We are going to run a service for those who absolutely need to travel but it’ll be disrupted. In a small number of places there are no trains at all. The south west coast and parts of Wales. 

‘Elsewhere we are expecting to run a disrupted service. Two pieces of advice, be prepared for very significant delays and second check your train is running at all.’ 

Trains are enforcing emergency 50mph speed limits in many areas to make it easier for drivers to brake if they spot objects on the track or damage to overhead wires caused by strong winds.

Great Western Railway warned that it expects to ‘significantly reduce’ the number of long-distance services it runs, while the main line through South Wales and some branch lines in Devon and Cornwall will be closed.

Among the firms advising customers not to travel on Friday include Avanti West Coast, CrossCountry, Great Northern, London North Eastern Railway, Southern and Thameslink.

Network Rail staff worked to reopen lines hit by Storm Dudley earlier this week. Roads were also expected to be treacherous on Friday.

The AA said on Thursday it was ‘experiencing a very high demand’ for its breakdown rescue services.