Live updates: Strong winds and travel disruptions expected as Storm Franklin hits Portsmouth and Hampshire
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The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for most of England, as well as parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, for yesterday (Feb 20) and today until 1pm, with winds of up to 50mph expected.
On the Met Office website it said: ‘Further periods of very strong winds on Sunday and Monday, with possible disruption.
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Hide Ad‘What to expect: Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen, along with trees/branches being brought down.
‘Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible.
‘Some roads and bridges may close.
‘Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.
‘Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.’
You can recap all the latest storm updates from throughout the day in our live blog below.
Storm Franklin in Portsmouth and Hampshire
Key Events
- Third named storm in a week is blowing across the UK
Today’s forecast
Advice from Met Office
The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind as Storm Franklin was set to hit most of England, as well as parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, for yesterday (Feb 20) and today until 1pm.
On the Met Office website it said: ‘Further periods of very strong winds on Sunday and Monday, with possible disruption.’
During the storm the Met Office advises:
- Stay indoors as much as possible
- If you do go out, try not to walk or shelter close to buildings and trees
- Keep away from the sheltered side of boundary walls and fences - if these structures fail, they will collapse on this side
- Do not go outside to repair damage while the storm is in progress
- If possible, enter and leave your house through doors in the sheltered side, closing them behind you
- Open internal doors only as needed, and close them behind you
- Take care when driving on exposed routes such as bridges, or high open roads, delay your journey or find alternative routes if possible
- Slow down and be aware of side winds, particular care should be taken if you are towing or are a high sided vehicle
- Do not drive unless your journey is really necessary
Train passengers urged not to travel today
Passengers have been warned not to travel on South Western Railway, Southern Rail or Thameslink services today with Storm Franklin expected to cause ‘further disruption.’
It comes as strong winds and a 50mph speed restriction are likely to create delays and cancellations throughout the day.
Christian Neill, customer experience director for South Western Railway said: ‘We understand Monday marks the first day back from half term for many and we are sorry for the continuing disruption these storms are causing. It has been an incredibly challenging few days and our teams have been working tirelessly to clear the tracks to safely run as many trains as possible.
‘With more severe weather expected on Monday, we are asking customers not to attempt to travel as we cannot guarantee to get them to their destination.’
And in an update on the Southern network website this morning it said: ‘If you have not yet travelled to the station, or if you are otherwise able to, please abandon your journey. Stay at home.’
Almost 10,000 homes still without power
By yesterday evening (Feb 20) engineers from Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) had managed to fix power supply to 172,000 households – although 9,650 homes still remained cut off.
It followed the arrival of Storm Eunice on Friday, which battered power networks, causing ‘1,000 points of damage’ on overhead lines – 100 times more than that of an average day.
While Portsmouth, Fareham, Havant and Gosport remained unscathed, areas north of Cowplain and around Petersfield, were still suffering from blackouts over the weekend – along with large parts of West Sussex, including Chichester, Pagham, Bognor Regis and Fishbourne.
Read more here.
To find out if you can claim any compensation for lost power during Storm Eunice, visit tinyurl.com/EuniceClaim.
Damage caused by Storm Franklin
A roof was ripped from a shed in Leigh Park during Storm Franklin on February 20.
0ft fence panels were also blown through the air.
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