Storm Eunice () (known as Storm Zeynep in Germany and Storm Nora in Denmark) was an intense

extratropical cyclone Extratropical cyclones, sometimes called mid-latitude cyclones or wave cyclones, are low-pressure areas which, along with the anticyclones of high-pressure areas, drive the weather over much of the Earth. Extratropical cyclones are capable ...

that was part of the 2021–2022 European windstorm season. Storm Eunice was named by the UK

Met Office The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelop ...

on 14 February 2022. A red weather warning was issued on 17 February for parts of

South West England South West England, or the South West of England, is one of nine official regions of England. It consists of the counties of Bristol, Cornwall (including the Isles of Scilly), Dorset, Devon, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. Cities ...

and

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

, with a second red warning issued on 18 February, the day the storm struck, for

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the South East and

East of England The East of England is one of the nine official regions of England. This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, ...

. Eunice set a new record for the fastest wind gust recorded in England with 122 miles per hour (196 km/h) at

The Needles The Needles is a row of three stacks of chalk that rise about out of the sea off the western extremity of the Isle of Wight in the English Channel, United Kingdom, close to Alum Bay and Scratchell's Bay, and part of Totland, the westernmo ...

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Is ...

. The storm was one of the most powerful to impact the south coast of England since the Great Storm of 1987. The storm caused a huge amount of damage in parts of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

and

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe Northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54°N, or may be based on other geographical factors ...

; millions of people were left without power across affected areas, and many homes had sustained damage. The UK was particularly hard hit, with 1.4 million people left without power at its peak. Several other countries were struck hard by Eunice, with wind damage being mostly the cause of it. Heavy winds damaged parts of buildings, and wind gusts in excess of were recorded. Eunice caused 17 fatalities, and multiple injuries.

Meteorology

The

named Storm Eunice (as well as

Storm Dudley From 14 to 19 February 2022, a European windstorm struck the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, The Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. The storm was named Storm Dudley by the UK Met Office on February 14, 2022. The storm caused 225,00 ...

) on 14 February; the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

(FUB) named the same system "Zeynep" on 16 February.

Met Éireann Met Éireann (; meaning " Met of Ireland") is the state meteorological service of Ireland, part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. History The history of modern meteorology in Ireland dates back to 8 October 1860, whe ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

tweeted that the rapid pressure drop during

cyclogenesis Cyclogenesis is the development or strengthening of cyclonic circulation in the atmosphere (a low-pressure area). Cyclogenesis is an umbrella term for at least three different processes, all of which result in the development of some sort of cycl ...

met the criteria for

explosive cyclogenesis Explosive cyclogenesis (also referred to as a weather bomb, meteorological bomb, explosive development, bomb cyclone, or bombogenesis) is the rapid deepening of an extratropical cyclonic low-pressure area. The change in pressure needed to class ...

. The storm also developed a

sting jet A sting jet is a meteorological phenomenon which has been postulated to cause some of the most damaging winds in extratropical cyclones, developing according to the Shapiro-Keyser model (though perhaps not exclusively) of oceanic cyclones. Conc ...

similarly to the Great Storm of 1987.

Impact

Belgium

The roof of the

Ghelamco Arena The Ghelamco Arena (also called Arteveldestadion) is a multi-use stadium in Ghent, Belgium. It hosts the home matches of football club K.A.A. Gent and was officially opened on 17 July 2013, making it the first newly-built Belgian football stadiu ...

was damaged, resulting in the postponement of the First Division A match between Gent and Seraing scheduled for 18 February. In

Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Eurome ...

, parts of a crane were torn loose and fell on a hospital, damaging the roof and top floor. The town centre of

Asse Asse () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. It comprises the towns of Asse proper, Bekkerzeel, Kobbegem, Mollem, Relegem and Zellik. Asse is also situated in the Pajottenland. As of 2020, Asse had a total ...

had to be evacuated due to the risk of a church tower collapsing. Public transport was temporarily suspended in large parts of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, with

NMBS french: Société nationale des chemins de fer belgesgerman: Nationale Gesellschaft der Belgischen Eisenbahnen , type = Statutory corporation , industry = Rail Transport , foundation = 1926 , founder = Government o ...

and

De Lijn Vlaamse Vervoersmaatschappij De Lijn (English: Flemish transport company ''De Lijn''), usually known as De Lijn (, "The Line"), is a company run by the Flemish government in Belgium to provide public transportation with about 2240 buses and 399 tr ...

both announcing trains, buses, and trams were scrapped.

Thalys Thalys (French: ) is a French-Belgian high-speed rail, high-speed train operator originally built around the LGV Nord high-speed line between Gare du Nord, Paris and Brussels-South railway station, Brussels. This track is shared with Eurostar tr ...

services between

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

were also cancelled. Two ships ran adrift off the Belgian coast. The cargo ship drifted through two offshore wind farms, but arrived at its final destination in the Netherlands without sustaining any damage. The oil tanker was forced to lie at anchor in the C-Power offshore wind farm until its rescue by tugboats the next day. Two people died as a result of the heavy winds. In

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality ...

, a 79-year-old British man drowned after falling from his boat at the marina. In

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

, a man was hit by a broken solar panel and died in a hospital the next day. At least three others were seriously injured. In

Menen Menen (; french: Menin ; vls, Mêenn or ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Menen proper and the towns of Lauwe and Rekkem. The city is situated on the French/ ...

, an 18-year-old jogger was taken to a hospital in critical condition after being hit by a loose branch. In Temse, a man sustained a major head injury after a metal plate was ripped off a construction site container. In

Veurne Veurne (; french: Furnes, italic=no, ) is a City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Belgium, Belgian Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the town of Veurne proper an ...

, a truck driver was hospitalized after their truck was overturned.

Czech Republic

The storm had left 26,000 homes without power and several railway lines in the country were suspended.

Denmark

The

Danish Meteorological Institute The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI; da, Danmarks Meteorologiske Institut) is the official Danish meteorological institute, administrated by the Ministry of Energy, Utilities and Climate. The institute makes weather forecasts and observa ...

decided to give the storm the name Nora, believing the name Eunice would be difficult to pronounce in Nordic languages. Nora did not cause significant damage to Denmark, and most models suggest Nora hit it with wind speeds of 60~70 km/h (37~43 mph). They also suggested Nora hit

Southern Jutland Southern Jutland ( da, Sønderjylland; German: Südjütland) is the name for the region south of the Kongeå in Jutland, Denmark and north of the Eider (river) in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. The region north of the Kongeå is called da, Nør ...

the most, particularly near the German border as this was where Nora was closest to Denmark from Germany.

France

In France, an orange warning was issued in 5 departments, with 140 km/h (87mph) winds anticipated in the northernmost points of France, however the peak was 176 km/h (109mph) at Cap Gris Nez.

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, "strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments of ...

Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

, and

Manche Manche (, ) is a coastal French département in Normandy, on the English Channel, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.Wimereux were reported to have been patrolling the seafront ensuring nobody walked on it. Six people were seriously injured in the

department of France. Up to 160,000 households were left without electricity throughout the country. Regional trains in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ...

and

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

were suspended, and the

Lille-Flandres station Lille-Flandres station ( French: ''Gare de Lille-Flandres'', Dutch: ''Rijsel Vlaanderen'') is the main railway station of Lille, capital of French Flanders. It is a terminus for SNCF Intercity and regional trains. It opened in 1842 as the ''Gar ...

was temporarily evacuated after debris fell on the glass roof.

Germany

Klettbacher Bockwindmühle nach dem Sturm

In Germany, Eunice was named Zeynep by the FUB, ahead of the system's impact storm tide warnings were issued near the

Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Re ...

river in preparation for winds, higher than Ylenia which impacted the area only days prior. Eunice made landfall at about midday local time, close to the mouth of the Elbe. Two people died in separate car accidents in the western state of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inha ...

in connection with the storm, authorities said. A man died after falling when trying to repair a damaged roof near

Cuxhaven Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven ...

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...

in the municipality of

Wurster Nordseeküste Wurster Nordseeküste is a municipality in the district of Cuxhaven, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It takes its name from the historic region Land Wursten and the North Sea coast. It was formed on 1 January 2015 by the merger of the former municipal ...

. In

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

, a

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the ...

up the

River Elbe The Elbe (; cs, Labe ; nds, Ilv or ''Elv''; Upper and dsb, Łobjo) is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Giant Mountains of the northern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia (western half of the Czech Rep ...

reached 3.75m. A 55-meter crane collapsed on an under-construction office building in

Bremen Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...

. A

post mill The post mill is the earliest type of European windmill. Its defining feature is that the whole body of the mill that houses the machinery is mounted on a single vertical post, around which it can be turned to bring the sails into the wind. All ...

at Klettbach,

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

was blown down. Photographs show that the main post had snapped where the quarterbars join and the mill had blown over onto its side. It is hoped that the mill can be rebuilt. First estimations expect an insured damage of 900 million Euros.

Ireland

On 16 February,

issued a Status Orange wind warning for seven counties for 18 February, saying the storm would bring severe and potentially damaging winds, gusting up to 130 km/h. The next day, further weather warnings for rain, wind and snow were issued by Met Éireann, with a Status Red wind warning for counties

Cork Cork or CORK may refer to: Materials * Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product ** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container ***Wine cork Places Ireland * Cork (city) ** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...

, Kerry,

Clare Clare may refer to: Places Antarctica * Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land Australia * Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley * Clare Valley, South Australia Canada * Clare (electoral district), an electoral district * Cl ...

and

Waterford "Waterford remains the untaken city" , mapsize = 220px , pushpin_map = Ireland#Europe , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Ireland##Location within Europe , pushpin_relief = 1 , coordinates ...

, while all schools, colleges, universities and childcare facilities were advised to close in counties with Status Red wind and Orange snow warnings. A number of flights, ferry crossings, bus and train services were cancelled throughout the country. A gust of wind with a speed of was recorded offshore at

Fastnet Lighthouse Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...

, while a gust of was recorded at Roche's Point,

Cork Harbour Cork Harbour () is a natural harbour and river estuary at the mouth of the River Lee in County Cork, Ireland. It is one of several which lay claim to the title of "second largest natural harbour in the world by navigational area" (after Port Ja ...

. Up to 80,000 homes and businesses were without power nationally. In

County Wexford County Wexford ( ga, Contae Loch Garman) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella (''Uí C ...

, a 59-year-old

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/ shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or nati ...

worker was killed by a falling tree while out clearing debris. There were reports of damages to the roof of Clontarf Road DART station.

Lithuania

The storm caused power outages across Lithuania on 19 February, mostly in the western and central regions. The water level in the river in Lithuania's port town

Klaipėda Klaipėda (; ; german: Memel; pl, Kłajpeda; russian: Клайпеда; sgs, Klaipieda) is a city in Lithuania on the Baltic Sea coast. The capital of the eponymous county, it is the third largest city and the only major seaport in Lithuania ...

rose rapidly and flooded streets in the city centre, and shipping in the region had to be stopped. According to representatives of Klaipėda Port, wind gusts reached 90 km/h (56 mph) and is expected to rise up to 100–108 km/h (62–67 mph). Maximum recorded wave height was 5 meters (16.4 ft).

Netherlands

The

meteorological Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not ...

institute KNMI issued rare code red warnings as a result of Storm Eunice for

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

North Holland North Holland ( nl, Noord-Holland, ) is a province of the Netherlands in the northwestern part of the country. It is located on the North Sea, north of South Holland and Utrecht, and west of Friesland and Flevoland. In November 2019, it had a ...

Friesland Friesland (, ; official fry, Fryslân ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia, is a province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen, northwest of Drenthe and Overijssel, north of ...

and

IJsselmeer The IJsselmeer (; fy, Iselmar, nds-nl, Iesselmeer), also known as Lake IJssel in English, is a closed off inland bay in the central Netherlands bordering the provinces of Flevoland, North Holland and Friesland. It covers an area of with an ...

regions. A code orange was in effect for the rest of the country, excluding Limburg, which faced only a code yellow warning. KNMI reported that they expected gusts between 100 and 120 km/hr for inland areas. This is the fourth time a code red has been issued since 2021 in the Netherlands, with the last in July 2021. Dutch railway operator NS announced on 17 February that it was cancelling all domestic and international train traffic on 18 February at 14:00 CET (13:00 UTC). Many universities and schools closed their doors in the afternoon of 18 February. In addition, national retailers, courts and town halls stopped services across the country in the afternoon. The

Eredivisie The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is ...

match between

Fortuna Sittard Fortuna Sittard (; li, Fortuna Zitterd ) is a football club in Sittard, Netherlands. The club currently plays its football in the 12,500 capacity Fortuna Sittard Stadion and features in the Eredivisie. The club was established through a merger ...

and

Sparta Rotterdam Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands. Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...

scheduled for the evening of 18 February was postponed as the safety of players, staff and supporters could not be guaranteed due to the extreme weather conditions in the area. On 18 February, four people were killed in accidents involving fallen trees. Two people died in

after being struck by a falling tree; one of them was a cyclist. A driver in Diemen was struck and killed by a falling tree as well. A fourth person died in Adorp near

Groningen Groningen (; gos, Grunn or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. The ''capital of the north'', Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of t ...

, after colliding with a fallen tree in their car. The roof of the ADO Den Haag Stadium was damaged. In the early evening of 18 February, several houses in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

were evacuated following reported instability in one of the two towers of the in the town's Zeeheldenkwartier neighbourhood.

Poland

Four people including two car drivers and two passers-by were killed and nine people injured. The storm brought down thousands of trees, and blocked road and rail transport (mainly in

Pomerania Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...

Mazovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest cit ...

Warmia Warmia ( pl, Warmia; Latin: ''Varmia'', ''Warmia''; ; Warmian: ''Warńija''; lt, Varmė; Old Prussian: ''Wārmi'') is both a historical and an ethnographic region in northern Poland, forming part of historical Prussia. Its historic capital ...

and Masuria). PKP IC trains suffered from cancellations and delays of more than 400 minutes. More than 1.2 million people remained without electricity. More than 5,000 buildings were damaged. The 112 emergency phone number was overloaded. There were more than 180,000 emergency calls and more than 25,000 emergency actions, mainly regarding fallen trees, severed electricity lines or damaged roofs. Some skyscrapers in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

were damaged. The highest gusts were recorded on the morning of 19 February in the Baltic port of Łeba (119 km/h) and on Śnieżka mountain (162 km/h).

United Kingdom

Eunice caused at least £360 million worth of damage in the UK. Damage to The O2 Arena's tent caused by Storm Eunice

Weather warnings for wind, ice and rain were issued by the

spanning most of the UK on 17 February: these warnings included red warnings, because of a danger to life from flying debris, across

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

and

Southern England Southern England, or the South of England, also known as the South, is an area of England consisting of its southernmost part, with cultural, economic and political differences from the Midlands and the North. Officially, the area includes ...

. People living on the north coasts of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

and

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lor ...

in South West England were warned to expect flooding, hence the "danger to life" red warning. Soon after,

South East England South East England is one of the nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It consists of the counties of Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, the Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Berkshi ...

and

were issued a red warning. Schools were widely closed, along with public facilities (e.g. libraries), delivery services, sea crossings, and several bridges. The Humber Bridge,

Queen Elizabeth II Bridge The Dartford-Thurrock River Crossing, commonly known as the Dartford Crossing and until 1991 the Dartford Tunnel, is a major road crossing of the River Thames in England, carrying the A282 road between Dartford in Kent in the south and Thurro ...

and the

Orwell Bridge The Orwell Bridge is a concrete box girder bridge just south of Ipswich in Suffolk, England. Opened to road traffic in 1982, the bridge carries the A14 road (formerly the A45) over the River Orwell. History Design The main span is 190 metre ...

were closed; the closure of the Severn Bridge and the Prince of Wales Bridge made it the first time that both Severn bridges have been closed simultaneously, and the first time the Prince of Wales bridge had been closed due to wind. The Langstone Bridge closed for almost three hours over fears of high tide surges, cutting off

Hayling Island Hayling Island is an island off the south coast of England, in the borough of Havant in the county of Hampshire, east of Portsmouth. History An Iron Age shrine in the north of Hayling Island was later developed into a Roman temple in the 1s ...

as the only road to and from the settlement. The prime minister,

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as ...

, said that the army had been placed on "standby". Authorities across the country were inundated with phone calls related to the storm, with some having to ask the public only to dial 999 if there was a risk to life.

London Fire Brigade The London Fire Brigade (LFB) is the fire and rescue service for London, the capital of the United Kingdom. It was formed by the Metropolitan Fire Brigade Act 1865, under the leadership of superintendent Eyre Massey Shaw. It has 5,992staff, inc ...

declared a major incident – receiving 1,958 calls on Friday, three times more than the previous day. The ambulance service in the South Central England region declared a critical incident due to demand on its emergency services. A gust of wind with a speed of was recorded at

, the fastest gust ever recorded in England. There were several casualties, including three fatalities. One person in Waterloo was injured by falling debris; another in

Streatham Streatham ( ) is a district in south London, England. Centred south of Charing Cross, it lies mostly within the London Borough of Lambeth, with some parts extending into the neighbouring London Borough of Wandsworth. Streatham was in Surrey ...

was injured by a falling tree. Three people were taken to hospital after a car hit a tree in Bradford-upon-Avon. One person was hospitalised with serious injuries after being hit by debris from a roof in

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckin ...

. An elderly man was injured when a section of roof was blown off the Bournemouth Sands Hotel in Westbourne. Police in

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

, north London, said they were called to reports of a tree falling on a car at 16:00 GMT. The woman, a passenger, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver, a man in his 30s, was taken to hospital. The man killed in

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wir ...

was a passenger in a car heading towards

Aintree Aintree is a village and civil parish in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England. Historically in Lancashire, it lies between Walton and Maghull on the A59 road, north-east of Liverpool city centre, in North West England. I ...

at about 14:10 when debris reportedly hit the windscreen, police said. Paramedics treated him at the scene, but he was pronounced dead. The driver was not injured. In

Alton, Hampshire Alton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England, near the source of the River Wey. It had a population of 17,816 at the 2011 census. Alton was recorded in the Domesday Survey of 1086 as ''Aoltone' ...

, two men were in a pickup truck when it was crushed by a falling tree. The passenger was pronounced dead at the scene while the driver was taken to hospital with serious injuries. In

, large sections of

The O2 Arena The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the ...

's fabric roof were torn away. Two lorries overturned on the M4 westbound between

Margam Margam is a suburb and community of Port Talbot in the Welsh county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, close to junction 39 of the M4 motorway. The community had a population of 3,017 in 2011; the built up area being larger and extending into ...

and

Port Talbot Port Talbot (, ) is a town and community in the county borough of Neath Port Talbot, Wales, situated on the east side of Swansea Bay, approximately from Swansea. The Port Talbot Steelworks covers a large area of land which dominates the south ...

. The storm blew the top of the spire off Church of St Thomas, Wells,

. The

de Havilland Venom The de Havilland DH 112 Venom is a British post-war single-engined jet aircraft developed and manufactured by the de Havilland Aircraft Company. Much of its design was derived from the de Havilland Vampire, the firm's first jet-powered comb ...

display plane outside Grove Business Park,

Wantage Wantage () is a historic market town and civil parish in Oxfordshire, England. Although within the boundaries of the historic county of Berkshire, it has been administered as part of the Vale of White Horse district of Oxfordshire since 1974. T ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primaril ...

collapsed in high winds. In

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...

, The Cartwheeling Boys statue collapsed in a pile of rubble. One of the three towers at Grain Power Station collapsed, and the power station was taken offline for safety. The early 21st century bandstand at the

De La Warr Pavilion The De La Warr Pavilion is a grade I listed building, located on the seafront at Bexhill on Sea, East Sussex, on the south coast of England. The Modernist and International Style building was designed by the architects Erich Mendelsohn and Se ...

Bexhill-on-Sea Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish situated in the county of East Sussex in South East England. An ancient town and part of the local government district of Rother, Bexhill is home to a number of ar ...

seafront in

East Sussex East Sussex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England on the English Channel coast. It is bordered by Kent to the north and east, West Sussex to the west, and Surrey to the north-west. The largest settlement in East ...

was destroyed. Cladding on a

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

tower block was ripped off.

Preston Railway Station Preston railway station in Preston, Lancashire, England, is an interchange railway station on the West Coast Main Line, half-way between London Euston and Glasgow Central (206 miles from London Euston, 194 miles from Glasgow Central). It is s ...

was evacuated after the roof suffered structural damage. The station was subsequently deemed unsafe, with

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's len ...

warning passengers to avoid it. It was partially reopened the next day, with only three of the six platforms in use. A part of the lion enclosure’s fence at Africa Alive! in Kessingland, Suffolk was smashed by a fallen tree. A block of flats in

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite ...

had its roof ripped off by the storm. Cladding on Evenlode Tower at

Blackbird Leys Blackbird Leys is a civil parish and ward in Oxford, England. According to the 2011 census, the population of the ward (whose boundaries may change occasionally so as to ensure minimal malapportionment) stood at 6,077. Unlike most parts of th ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

also came loose. A water pipe burst at Hove Lagoon in

Brighton and Hove Brighton and Hove () is a city and unitary authority in East Sussex, England. It consists primarily of the settlements of Brighton and Hove, alongside neighbouring villages. Often referred to synonymously as Brighton, the City of Brighton and H ...

, re-flooding it after it was emptied for cleaning and possibly costing the owner thousands of pounds. It is thought that on Friday 18 February there was a record number of homes without power, at around 1.4 million homes. 90,000 homes in

were left without power. In

, power outages affected

Bossiney Bossiney ( kw, Boskyny, meaning ''Cyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 ...

, Lanarth, Marazion and Trevarrack.

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

was heavily affected by the storm. The Sandbanks Ferry service was suspended. Buildings in

Pokesdown Pokesdown is a suburb of Bournemouth in Dorset, England. It lies just east of Boscombe and west of Southbourne. History Evidence of human occupation in the area dates back to the Bronze Age. In 1909 when Lock's Field was being developed into wh ...

were damaged, and a power cut affected

Tower Park Tower Park is a leisure and retail park, located at Mannings Heath, in Poole, Dorset, England. It was one of the first complexes of its kind in Europe when it opened in 1989. History The leisure park, which opened in 1989, was a Real estate dev ...

. The

Isle of Portland An isle is an island, land surrounded by water. The term is very common in British English. However, there is no clear agreement on what makes an island an isle or its difference, so they are considered synonyms. Isle may refer to: Geography * Is ...

recorded a gust of , which was the highest wind speed recorded on mainland Britain during the storm. An

EFL Championship The English Football League Championship (often referred to as the Championship for short or the Sky Bet Championship for sponsorship purposes) is the highest division of the English Football League (EFL) and second-highest overall in the E ...

game between

AFC Bournemouth AFC Bournemouth () is a professional association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a r ...

and Nottingham Forest scheduled for the evening of 18 February was postponed because of damage to Bournemouth’s ground, the Vitality Stadium, caused by the storm. Trains were cancelled and delayed across the UK (including the complete cancellation of services in Wales). More than 430 flights due to take off or land at UK airports were cancelled on Friday. Landings at

Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others be ...

of incoming aircraft attempting to land at the airport, including numerous

go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unsta ...

s and

touch-and-go landing In aviation, a touch-and-go landing (TGL) or circuit is a maneuver that is common when learning to fly a fixed-wing aircraft. It involves landing on a runway and taking off again without coming to a full stop. Usually the pilot then circles the a ...

s, were live-streamed on the

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

channel Big Jet TV, leading to global media coverage. On 19 February, a yellow warning was issued in southern Wales and the coast of South West England for wind and another for ice in

Flintshire , settlement_type = County , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms of Flint ...

. The Prince of Wales Bridge was reopened, however the Severn Bridge remained closed due to forecast of high winds. As of 20 February, there were still 83,000 homes without power across the United Kingdom: 29,000 in South West England; 23,000 in South East England; 20,000 in South England; 7,000 in Eastern England; and around 3,000 in South Wales. On 20 February, Storm Franklin was named by the Met Office, and was expected to hamper recovery efforts from Storm Eunice. However, the storm was not as intense as Storm Eunice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eunice, Storm 2022 disasters in Europe 2022 meteorology 2020s disasters in the Czech Republic February 2022 events in Europe European windstorms Weather events in Belgium Weather events in Germany Weather events in Ireland Weather events in Poland Weather events in the Czech Republic Weather events in the Netherlands Winter weather events in the United Kingdom