Storm Eunice clean-up may be disrupted by further strong winds in parts of UK, Met Office says

Further strong winds and icy stretches could disrupt the big clean-up from Storm Eunice in parts of the UK, Met Office forecasters have warned.

A yellow weather warning for wind is in place across southern parts of England and Wales from 6am to 6pm on Saturday.

The Met Office says this could prolong power cuts and hamper recovery efforts – and there is a “small chance” some roads and bridges could close.

Another yellow warning for ice, covering large swathes of northern England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, is due to expire at 9am this morning.

Thousands of homes remain without electricity as the country assesses the impact of one of the worst storms to hit the UK in a generation.

Yesterday, Environment Secretary George Eustice had said 200,000 homes were still without power, but electricity had been restored to an additional 250,000 households.

Accountancy firm PwC has estimated that insurance losses from Storm Eunice will be between £200m and £350m.

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At least four people were killed as record-breaking gusts of wind caused damage and disruption across the UK and Ireland.

A woman in her 30s died after a tree fell on a car in north London, while a man in his 50s died after debris struck the windscreen of the car he was travelling in on Merseyside.

Another man in his 20s was killed in Hampshire after a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter pick-up collided with a tree – and in Ireland, a man in County Wexford was also killed by a falling tree.

Several others were seriously injured. One person was struck by flying debris from a roof in Henley-on-Thames, while someone was hit by falling masonry in southeast London.

In pictures: Storm Eunice strikes

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The weather system is now pushing its way into the European mainland – with warnings of high winds in force across Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany.

As of 3am on Saturday, five flood warnings from the Environment Agency – indicating that flooding is expected – were still in force.

Meanwhile, an additional 85 flood alerts indicate that flooding is possible.

A new record was provisionally set for England as a wind gust of 122mph was registered at The Needles on the Isle of Wight.

The previous record for a low-level location in England had been 118mph at Gwennap Head in Cornwall on 15 December 1979.

What you can do if you are affected by Storm Eunice

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Thousands of families saw their half-term plans disrupted as major attractions closed their doors on Friday.

Some of them – including Legoland and Chessington World of Adventures – have confirmed that they will be open as normal this weekend.

It is going to be a wet, blustery weekend for many in the UK.

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