Storm Eunice Sheffield: Weather warning upgraded to Amber - 'good chance' flying debris could endanger life

The Met Office is forecasting heavy rain on Friday morning as Storm Eunice arrives, followed by winds of up to 60mph by 3pm, by which time the temperature is expected to fall to -3C. A chance of snow has also been predicted, overnight into Saturday.

The upgraded warning comes as a Sheffield councillor shared photos of how a mature tree in Broomhall was snapped in half by high winds during Storm Dudley earlier this week.

And rail provider London North Eastern Railway has warned passengers ‘not to travel’ on Friday as it is expecting ‘significant disruption’ for journeys.

Is there a weather warning for Sheffield and what does it mean?

An in-place weather warning for high speed winds in Sheffield has been upgraded from Yellow to Amber.

Winds of up 62mph are expected to batter Sheffield on Friday afternoon.

The Met Office says the Amber weather warning means 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 buses, trains and flights.

Prolonged power cuts could occur, and there are likely to be falling branches and some uprooted trees.

Weather warnings have been upgraded across the UK today (February 17). Parts of Cornwall and Wales have been upgraded to Red, where flying debris will pose a danger to life and widespread damage is likely.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said: “An active jet stream is driving low-pressure systems across the country, both of which are likely to cause some disruption and National Severe Weather Warnings have been issued.”

What damage has there been in Sheffield due to Storm Dudley?

It comes after a Sheffield councillor today shared pictures of how two cars narrowly avoided being smashed by a tree that snapped in half by high speed winds.

Broomhill and Sharrow Vale councillor Kaltum Rivers shared photos of the near miss on her Twitter page, showing how a huge piece of a mature tree on in Broomhill came crashing to earth on Wednesday night (February 17).

The large branch fell between two cars parked nearby, leaving both with scrapes.

"Wind is so dangerously strong, this just happened in Broomhall - two cars affected,” wrote the councillor. “Thank goodness no-one was hurt.”

The high winds last night came as Storm Dudley loosened its grip after battering Sheffield with winds of up to 50mph for all of Tuesday and Wednesday.

The damage to Sheffield was minor. Derbyshire Road was blocked by a large hedge blowing into the road, and some residents reported garden furniture and trampolines taking off.

A stretch of the M1 at Tinsley Viaduct was closed to high sided vehicles to prevent them being exposed to high speed winds that could tip them over.

Hillsborough Golf Club also reported a large tree on its course was uprooted by the storm.

Hundreds of homes were without power and photos of damage around residents’ neighbourhoods were shared online.

Should I travel on Friday during Storm Eunice?

Rail passengers have been told ‘not to travel’ on Friday amid warnings Storm Eunice will batter South Yorkshire with 60mph winds.

London North Eastern Railway says customers booked to travel in either direction between York or Leeds to London King’s Cross should reconsider their journey as ‘significant disruption’ is expected.

The provider is offering full refunds for passengers who need to cancel trips at their point of purchase, but is still running a reduced service on Friday (February 18).

TransPennine Express has also urged customers not to travel.

Both providers say they will be running a reduced service with emergency speed restrictions also in place.

Warrick Dent, LNER safety and operations director, said: “We are encouraging our customers with tickets dated for Friday to bring forward their travel arrangements to Thursday, where possible.

“We expect services to be extremely busy in the coming days and advise customers to check our website and social media channels for the latest information.”

Updates for LNER railway travel on Friday can be found at LNER.co.uk or @LNER on Twitter.