Yahoo Finance Storm Arwen: Two killed by falling trees as winds of almost 100mph batter UK
Two men were killed after being struck by falling trees as Storm Arwen continues to batter the UK with winds of up to 100mph.
Emergency services attended Vicarage Road in Ambleside following reports of a tree falling on a man at around 11pm yesterday evening, but police said the man, who was from Lancaster, died at the scene.
Cumbria Police have advised people to avoid the area until it is made safe.
It comes after another man was killed when his car was struck by a falling tree in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on Friday.
What weather warnings are in place?
The Met Office issued a rare red weather warning for parts of North East England which expired in the early hours of Saturday morning.
However amber and yellow weather warnings for wind remain in place, with “some very strong gusts” expected across much of the country. A few inches of snow also fell across Scotland and parts of England, with more expected today.
People have been advised only to travel if absolutely necessary, as the Met Office described last night’s weather as “damaging” and having affected “a wide swathe of the United Kingdom”.
Met Office forecaster, Marco Petagna, said: "We've seen some pretty severe gusts overnight with the highest speeds hitting 98mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland. Elsewhere, exposed sites in Scotland and Northern Ireland also surpassed 90mph, with 70-80mph seen more widely in the north of the UK, though parts of southern England and Wales also felt the effects of the storm.
"This has been coupled with a few inches of snow which has fallen in some areas. In the higher ground areas of Scotland we expected to see up to 15cm falling but the strong winds meant the snow blew around and created a blizzard in some parts."
Is transport disrupted?
Train networks across the UK reported disruption to services. ScotRail services were disrupted between Edinburgh and Glasgow Queen Street, Dunblane and Stirling after a barn was blown on to the line close to Polmont, near Falkirk.
TransPennine Express customers were urged not to travel, with services between Newcastle and Edinburgh cancelled. South Western Railway also predicted disruption on Saturday due to "multiple trees and obstructions blocking the railway", while London North East Railway warned customers not to travel north of York due to "significant damage".
Dorset Council said trees and power cables had fallen on roads in the area, while road closures were reported more widely in the worst-affected parts of northern England and Scotland.
The M26 near Rochdale was forced to close after at least 120 lorries became stuck in the snow and one vehicle overturned, causing severe disruption. Snow ploughs have since been deployed to help clear the roads. And Snake Pass in Derbyshire, one of the UK’s bleakest mountain roads, saw lines of empty cars today after motorists were forced to abandon their vehicles as blizzards swept the road through the Pennines last night.
Are there power cuts?
Homes across the UK were damaged as the gusts struck. Northern Powergrid said severe gales caused power cuts for more than 55,000 customers, mainly in the Northumberland, County Durham and Tyne and Wear areas.
A number of councils in Scotland also reported power cuts, whilst Electricity North West responded to a high number of cuts affecting thousands of properties in Cumbria and Lancashire.
Storm in pictures
RNLI warning as waves reach 'exceptional heights
In Sunderland, strong gusts battered buildings, causing falling debris to destroy a nearby vehicle, and huge waves crashed against the sea wall and Roker Lighthouse. The RNLI has warned people to be extremely careful if visiting the coast, particularly along exposed cliffs, seafronts and piers, after a rowing boat crew was rescued after capsizing off the coast of Wales.
A spokesperson for the Met Office told the BBC that the wind speeds are likely to generate "some very large waves. We are talking about wave heights that really are exceptional. I've heard of nine to 10m waves out at sea, which is particularly noteworthy."
Falmouth Coastguard Paddy Cochrane warned wave watchers to use their common sense. He said: "In this really really heavy weather we would ask people to stay away from the coast.
With #StormArwen named as our first winter storm, we can expect some strong winds and rough weather overnight and into the weekend. We urge people to stay safe near the coast as the severe weather could make our seas and coastlines particularly dangerous. (📷 Steve Duncombe) pic.twitter.com/7vAW0p3mMe
— RNLI (@RNLI) November 26, 2021
While good fun to run away from massive waves, people need to know these waves have volume, they have power and they are usually full of stones, grit and gravel, so please exercise some common sense."
However, it looks like the UK has seen the worst of the weather from Storm Arwen. Mr Petagna added: "There has been plenty of disruption caused by these severe gales, stretching down from south-west England and as far as northern parts of Scotland.
"But I have to say we've seen the worst of the weather and things will start to fizzle out over Saturday, though people will still see snow and fairly strong gales."
