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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Ryan Merrifield

UK snow forecast: Warning for flurries to hit Britain today after Storm Eunice

The Met Office has issued a warning for snow in Britain today in the aftermath of the deadly Storm Eunice in which at least four people died.

The yellow warning covers parts of northern England and the Midlands, and is in place from 11am until 3pm.

It states: "A short period of heavy snow may cause some temporary disruption on roads, mainly across higher ground such as the Peak District."

The national weather agency adds some roads and railways will likely be affected with longer journey times.

Several other rain warnings have also been put in place, in North East and West England, East Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber between midnight and 6pm on Sunday.

It comes after the second-named storm in as many days saw record-breaking 122mph winds hit England yesterday - stronger than those which struck during the Great Storm in 1987.

Cars drive through snow in Eastfield North Lanarkshire on Friday (Katielee Arrowsmith SWNS)

Snow also fell on Friday in parts of the north of England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with photos showing motorists having to abandon their cars during the morning commute.

Hundreds of thousands of homes are still without power after Eunice tore through the country, while insurers have indicated the clean-up could cost more than £300 million.

At least four people were killed in the UK and Ireland during one of the worst storms in decades.

The Met Office has issued a snow warning from 11am today (Met Office)

Monstrous gusts peaked at the Needles on the Isle of Wight.

Footage shared online captured planes struggling to land in high winds, damage to the roof of the O2 arena in London, and the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset, crashing to the ground.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) warned previous similar storms have cost around £360 million in repairs.

A car struggles in the snow during Storm Eunice in Paisley, Scotland (Jeff Holmes JSHPIX/REX/Shutterstock)

Clean-up efforts could also be hindered by wet and windy weather moving in over the weekend, the Met Office warned.

Before today's snow warning, the national forecaster had already issued a yellow warning for wind covering the entire south coast and south-west Wales until 6pm on Saturday.

On Sunday, a yellow warning for wind is in place for most of Scotland and north-west Wales, while a yellow rain warning covers Lancashire and Cumbria.

A motorist gets out of his car in Consett, County Durham (North News & Pictures Ltd northnews.co.uk)

Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said Eunice was one of the worst storms in decades.

"The 122mph statistic was a new provisional record for England in terms of wind gusts," he said.

"But it's also about how widespread the storm was, so we will be looking at whether this storm was worse than the Burns Night storm (in 1990), or the one in 1987 when gusts were around 80 to 90mph - but the damage may have been more widespread."

A fallen tree is seen close to Waterloo Station (Getty Images)

Mr Dewhurst added that gusts reached 70mph at Heathrow, where planes struggled to land and thousands of people tuned in to watch on YouTube channel Big Jet TV, and 59mph in inner-city London.

He warned travellers to brace for more windy weather in the coming days.

"We'll see gusts through the day of up to 40 to 60mph, particularly around the coasts," Mr Dewhurst said.

A tree is blown down by Storm Eunice in Rainham, Essex (Garry Bowden/REX/Shutterstock)

"This will have an impact on the clearing up process over the course of the day."

A woman in her 30s died after a tree fell on a car in Haringey, north London, on Friday afternoon, the Metropolitan Police said.

In Netherton, Merseyside, a man in his 50s died after debris struck the windscreen of a vehicle he was travelling in.

A man in his 20s was killed in Alton, Hampshire, after a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter pick-up collided with a tree in Old Odiham Road.

In Co Wexford, Ireland, a man was also killed by a falling tree.

London Fire Brigade said it took 1,958 calls on Friday as Storm Eunice hit the capital - three times more than the previous day.

The service tweeted: "Although the worst of £StormEunice is over its affect may extend into the coming days. Please be aware of the potential for loose structures or falling debris."

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