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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Nadia Khomami (now) and Matthew Weaver (earlier)

Storm Doris 'weather bomb': 94mph winds, travel chaos and snow – live updates

Sea foam and high winds as Storm Doris hits

This liveblog is closing for the evening now. For more on Storm Doris, read Rob Booth’s news story wrapping up events of the day.

Updated

A ceiling collapse that left a girl with life-threatening injuries at a school in Milton Keynes may have been caused by “adverse weather conditions”, local police have said. The accident happened with about 40 children in the sports hall at Southwood Middle School. One other child was injured but did not have to go to hospital.

Thames Valley Police said it would be conducting a joint investigation with the local fire and rescue service.

Here’s a summary of the afternoon and early evening’s developments on Storm Doris:

  • Train services have been severely disrupted across the country, with 22 of 26 operators affected and London stations including Euston and King’s Cross temporarily closing
  • A woman has been killed by a piece of falling debris outside a branch of Starbucks in Wolverhampton
  • Airports around the country were affected, with as many as 10% of Heathrow flights cancelled. Two ferries have been unable to dock in Ireland while others have been cancelled
  • Politicians trying to get out the vote in Copeland and Stoke Central for the two vital byelections have found their efforts impeded by the weather
  • The Met Office says that the storm should move out into the North Sea this evening, leading to a drop in wind - but a cold, icy night

Author Kate Allatt tweets these pictures of a van on its side near Buxton in Derbyshire. Elsewhere, Euston station will stay open overnight for the benefit of passengers waiting to travel tomorrow, its official Twitter account says, while Warren Street, King’s Cross and Euston Square have all re-opened.

Updated

West Midlands police have confirmed that a 29-year-old woman died in Wolverhampton after being struck by “wooden debris from a nearby building” earlier today.

Rebecca Davis, a 40-year-old teacher, said she saw a woman aged “between 20 and 30” receiving CPR after the incident outside Starbucks.

“I think the wind broke it and caused it to fall. I don’t know if it was hit by something else or just the wind did it,” she said. “I don’t think anyone else was hurt. It was a big piece about the size of a coffee table but I think it just hit her.”

The police added that they are working with the local council to establish exactly what happened.

Updated

King’s Cross St Pancras underground station is closed while faulty escalators are fixed, according to an official TfL Twitter account. Meanwhile, Warren Street has been closed due to overcrowding, and Euston remains closed. Not a pleasant evening for the capital’s workers.

If you’re yet to contemplate the agony of your commute home, National Rail has a useful page to help you figure it out that includes links to information about affected journeys across the country. 22 train operating companies are affected - out of 26 in total.

Photographer Simon Paul Felton posts a picture he took at Birmingham New Street station, where some trains are now running but delays continue.

David Fleming, an 18-year-old from Perth, posted this video after what he said was a crash landing at Schiphol airport in Amsterdam. The airport’s official account tweeted that a Flybe flight’s landing gear had collapsed during touchdown and added that no one had been injured. Earlier the airport had warned of delays because of strong winds, but it didn’t make any explicit connection between the Flybe plane’s problems and the weather.

Things should be getting at least a little calmer soon: as we head into Thursday evening and Storm Doris moves out into the North Sea, the winds will begin to decrease, according to Met Office meteorologist Emma Sharples.

“Then the focus turns more to it turning cold, frosty and icy overnight with wintry showers around as well,” she said.

Storm Doris wasn’t enough to keep one man from running naked through the streets of Sheffield today, the Derry Journal reports. No explanation has apparently been found so far to explain the man’s stunt.

Virgin Trains East Coast services are said to be severely disrupted by Storm Doris. Their trains across the whole East Coast are expected to be cancelled or delayed by up to 100 minutes. Commuters have been advised not to travel today and told their tickets will be valid for use on tomorrow’s trains.

Other services are having similar problems.

ITV’s Damon Green takes on Doris.

Trampolines across the UK are finally escaping from the iron grip of their owners.

Not the most ideal conditions to be learning to drive in.

Updated

Earlier this afternoon, the wind toppled a double-decker bus onto its side in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire at around 1pm, an East of England Ambulance Service spokesman said. Paramedics assessed 15 people at the scene on Lynn Road but no-one involved is believed to be in a serious or life-threatening condition.

A man is thought to have been injured by a section of falling debris near Cardinal Place shopping centre in Victoria, central London. Paramedics and police were at the scene, which was close to a new entrance to London Underground on Victoria Street.

A Birmingham taxi driver was inches away from death after Storm Doris caused a tree to fall onto his car, Jack Butler reports. Surprisingly the 35 year-old driver managed to leave the vehicle with no serious injuries. An ambulance attended to the driver but he declined hospital treatment. A video can be viewed on the Birmingham Mail site.

Do you know who likes Doris? Uber. I’m currently in an Uber back to London with three other lost souls I met at Hatfield train station, where questions about the next train into the capital were met with a shrug.

Currently it looks like a fare that would normally cost around £55-60 is going to set up back around £100 as the company implements it’s “surge” pricing to capitalise on the trains chaos. And the traffic is bad. Happy days.

Updated

Former footballer and pundit Robbie Savage has filmed a scene from the flight he was on from Seville.

All trains to and from Birmingham have been cancelled due to the storm.

In central London, scaffolding became dislodged atop an office block in the Aldwych at Holborn, where the green light has been given for a £15 million rooftop extension. The roadway was cordoned off as a ribbon of scaffolding hung from the roof at Aldwych House, built in 1926.

Video from Merseyside this morning shows winds blowing someone off their feet.

And here is Euston station in London.

Another Guardian colleague, Alexandra Topping, has been trying to get back to London from St. Albans crown court. All trains in and out of St. Albans have been cancelled, she said, with commuters directed onto circuitous local buses to Hatfield.

“At Hatfield station there are currently a handful of Great Northern rail workers, two nuns and many disgruntled and cold travellers hanging around, but no trains to London. All train companies seem to have been floored by the weather bomb. I’m rapidly losing my optimism.”

East Midlands trains have just suspended all trains from Sheffield/Nottingham to London St Pancras International, according to my colleague Jim Powell, who has been trying for most of the day to get into London.

Train services from London Paddington have also been hit by storm damage.

Two ferries have been unable to dock at Rosslare Harbour, in Ireland since this morning due to the weather conditions, writes Jack Butler.

Ferries Isle of Inishmore and Stena Europe both departed from ports in Wales in the early hours of this morning and have been forced to ride out the weather conditions for around seven hours.

Ferries scheduled to travel from Ireland to Wales have been cancelled.

Trains from London Kings Cross suspended

All trains from London Kings Cross to Doncaster have been suspended, according to Virgin Trains.

A house in Wigan is still standing after being hit by fallen tree, but it might need a new gutter.

A man in Witcham, Cambridgeshire escaped with only torn jacket when a tree fell on his car, according to this video.

Politicians continue to brave the elements as they urge voters to do the same to get to the polling stations in the two byelections in Copelands and Stoke Central.

But Labour’s Kate Green was stuck on a train shortly before all trains from Euston were cancelled.

And her colleague Toby Perkins is stuck on a plane which managed to land at East Midlands Airport, but it too windy to get passengers off the aircraft.

A bridge and a teaching block at the University of Leicester have been closed because of high winds, writes Rachel Obordo.

GuardianWitness has been sent a video of a basket hanging off the roof of the main engineering building at the University of Leicester.

The main engineering building at the University of Leicester.

Dr David Weston, lecturer in materials engineering, who filmed the video from an adjacent building, said: “The engineering tower has a basket and crane on the roof. The basket has broken away from its fittings and is disintegrating due to repeated impact. The building has been evacuated and the area cordoned off.

“People are not allowed in and it’s too dangerous to go up and fix the problem, but everything’s under control. I think they’re just going to wait until the winds die down before they can safely secure the basket.”

Updated

Horse racing at Chelmsford is still on despite reports of an exploding commentary box.

Updated

An Emirates Plane was forced to abort a landing at Manchester Airport due to strong winds, writes Jack Butler.

Video footage shows flight EK17 bumpy approach to the runway.

The pilot was forced to take the plane back up into the air to circle around and attempt to land a second time.

A Qatar Airways flight was forced to divert to London Stansted due to heavy winds.

The plane, left Birmingham International Airport around 11.25am bound for Doha Hamad Airport, but it was forced to touch down in Stansted shortly after.

A Birmingham flight to Dublin was also diverted to Newcastle this morning.

Summary

Here’s a summary on the latest impact form Storm Doris:

  • A woman in Wolverhampton was killed when a piece of storm debris fell onto her outside Starbucks in the city centre. And a man is recovering in hospital in Cornwall after being trapped by a fallen tree in his car for more than an hour.
  • The Met Office declared Storm Doris a “weather bomb” or an “explosive cyclogenisis”– an intense low pressure system with a central pressure that falls 24 millibars in a 24-hour period.
  • Amber be prepared warnings for high winds remain in force for much of England. A warning of heavy snow still applies for Scotland. A new yellow warning of ice for Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern England on Friday has also been issued.
  • The storm has caused chaos on the rail network. All trains from London Euston were cancelled, and most ThamesLink trains from St Pancras have been delayed or cancelled. Fallen trees have also closed several lines in the north west of England and the Midlands.
  • High winds have forced the closure of several major road bridges including the QE2 Dartford Crossing over the Thames, the Orwell bridge on the A14 in Suffolk, and the A48 Severn Bridge between England and Wales.
  • Thousands of homes have been left without power. Areas hit include Stockport, Chesterfield, and Anglesey.
  • Winds of up 100mph forced the closure of the Port of Liverpool.
  • Heavy snow has blocked several key roads in Scotland. The M80 between Glasgow and Stirling was closed for several hours but has since reopened.
  • Elsewhere filming on the outdoor set of Coronation Street was suspended, and horse racing at Huntingdon abandoned.

Wolverhampton woman killed by fallen debris

West Midlands Ambulance Service has confirmed that a woman died after a piece of debris fell onto her outside Starbucks on Dudley Street street in Wolverhampton.

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: “On arrival, crews found a woman who had suffered very serious head injuries.”

“Sadly, it quickly became apparent that there was nothing that could be done to save her and she was confirmed dead at the scene.”

Updated

Woman killed in Wolverhampton

A woman has been killed in Wolverhampton city centre in a Storm Doris-related
incident, PA reports.

Trampolines have been trying to escape from gardens all over the country.

London Fire Brigade says it has dealt with around 20 storm related incidents including a trampoline that blew from a garden onto a roundabout in Eltham, in the south-east of the city.

It also freed a woman trapped in a car by a fallen tree in Purley.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Firefighters are always on hand should any buildings, hoardings or scaffolding be left in a precarious position and posing a risk to life because of high winds.

“To help stay safe during windy weather people should always clear gardens, balconies and window sills of anything that could be blown away. They should also take extra care if they venture outside and be careful using candles in the case of a power cut.”

More than 400 homes have been left without power in Stockport. Electricity North West says it hopes to restore the supply by 5pm.

Updated

Trains from Euston suspended

All trains from London Euston station have been suspended.

Virgin Trains urges passengers to travel tomorrow.

Updated

A race meeting at Huntingdon has been abandoned due to high winds.

Updated

Fallen trees have caused yet more problems on the rail network. Services between Bicester and Banbury in Oxfordshire and New Cross Gate and Crystal Palace in London are the latest to be hit.

And the bin run in Worcester could be late because of a fallen tree on the Hallow Road.

ITV has footage of pedestrians being blown off their feet in Liverpool.

M80 reopened in both directions

The M80 between Glasgow and Stirling has now reopened in both directions. But Traffic Scotland warns that it may take a while for delays to clear.

Channel 4’s weather man Liam Dutton is on the windswept sea front in Rhyl in north Wales.

Another fallen tree has just shut one of the rail lines into London Bridge, according to my colleague Steve Draper who is trying to get to work. He’s been told there is a tree down between New Cross and Brockley.

That driver trapped in a van by a fallen tree in Cornwall has been freed and is recovering in hospital, according to Cornwall Live.

The driver, a man said to be in his early fifties, was trapped in his white Iveco van for about an hour when it was hit by the falling tree between Antony and Sheviock.

Police have confirmed that the driver has been freed from the vehicle and taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth. The full extent of his injuries was not yet known.

The Met Office has issued a new yellow, be aware, warning for ice on Friday in Scotland, Northern Ireland and much of Northern England.

Traffic Scotland has announced that the M80 has reopened southbound between Stirling and Glasgow. But the northbound route remains blocked.

A jack-knifed car transporter near Banknock on the M80 during early morning snowfall
A jack-knifed car transporter near Banknock on the M80 during early morning snowfall Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Storm Doris has even hit Coronation Street. Outdoor filming for the Manchester-based soap was brought to a halt, according to PA. A spokeswoman for the ITV programme said filming would be rescheduled.

Scottish Power vehicles got a police escort to Anglesey to help restore electricity supplies amid reports of widespread power outages on the North Wales island.

More fallen tree news...

Power to more 200 homes in Macclesfield has been cut because of a fallen tree.

QE2 Bridge close

Highways England has closed the QE2 Bridge over the Thames at Dartford. Expect long delays on the M25 as the bridge is not expected to reopen until 6pm.

The Orwell Bridge on the A14 in Suffolk is also closed because of strong winds.

Also closed is A48 Severn Bridge between England and Wales.

Labour MPs are doing their best to get out the vote in the byelection in storm-hit Stoke Central.

Storm Doris has hit London. Here was the scene a little while ago on the Euston Road outside the British Library.

Fire crews are working to free a man trapped in van by a fallen tree on the A374 near Torpoint in Cornwall.

The crews are using winches and crash rescue equipment to release the man, according to Cornwall Fire and Rescue.

The road is closed in both directions.

A fallen tree is also reported to have blocked the A499 north of Worcester.

Here’s why the Port of Liverpool has been closed.

The Maritime and Coastguard warns the public not to get too close to the edge taking photos and videos of stormy seas.

Heavy snow saw traffic on one of Scotland’s busiest motorways, the M80, grind to a halt during rush hour, causing chaos for commuters, writes our Scotland editor Severin Carrell.

The M80 was closed in both directions after lorries jack-knifed and drivers slid over the road.

Transport Scotland said the motorway, which links Stirlingshire and Glasgow, was shut northbound after junction 5 at Achinkilns and southbound at junction 8 at Denny.

In the Scottish Borders, the council cancelled school buses and taxi services in advance of storm Doris hitting the region. However, schools remained open, leaving parents and children to make their own travel arrangements.

Many other major roads, including the M8 motorway connecting Edinburgh and Glasgow, the A7, A9, A68, A81 and the Edinburgh city bypass were also affected by snow and heavy rain. Transport authorities also closed the snow gates on the B974 Banchory to Fettercairn road in Aberdeenshire.

Transport Scotland also issued warnings about high winds for the Erskine bridge over the Clyde and the Tay road bridge, urging drivers to show caution.

Storm Doris is causing particular havoc to the rail network in the north west. Debris on the line in Port Sunlight and Hoylake has led to delays and cancelled trains.

While flooding is the problem between Lockerbie and Carlisle.

Port of Liverpool closed

The Port of Liverpool has been closed amid 100mph wind gusts.

The Irish Sea is currently one of the windiest places on earth, according Thomas Smith a geography lecturer at King’s College London.

Trains from St Pancras cancelled

Damage to overhead power lines in St Albans has caused trains to be cancelled from London’s St Pancras station. Network Rail warns of disruption until at least noon.

My colleague Alexdrana Topping writes:

I’m currently in a taxi going to St Albans crown court for the sentencing of Ian Stewart, because there are currently no Thameslink trains going north from St Pancras.

High winds have brought down electricity lines and the system is currently showing severe delays southbound too.

A lot of unhappy people at the closed barriers at St Pancras, where they are not letting people through.

Tory MP Anna Soubry is facing similar problems.

The Met Office is warning of injury from falling debris such roof tiles and trees.

The BBC’s Andy Gill posted this video of a fallen tree in Caerns Road in Birkenhead.

Across the Wirral in central Liverpool scaffolding is the problem.

And watch out for waves on Liverpool’s Albert Dock.

Updated

BBC Weather reports a wind gust of 94mph in Capel Curig in North Wales.

Storm Doris declared a 'weather bomb'

It’s official Storm Doris is a weather bomb, according to the Met Office.

What is a weather bomb? The Met Office provides this definition:

A ‘weather bomb’ is not a perfect meteorological term but is defined as an intense low pressure system with a central pressure that falls 24 millibars in a 24-hour period. A better description can be more directly linked to the meteorological phenomena known as rapid or explosive cyclogenesis. This is where dry air from the stratosphere flows into an area of low pressure. This causes air within the depression to rise very quickly and increases its rotation, which in turn deepens the pressure and creates a more vigorous storm.

Updated

Glasgow to Stirling motorway closed

The M80 northbound in Scotland between Glasgow and Stirling has been closed due to snow.

And here’s the wintry scene on the M9 near Falkirk.

Traffic on the M9 near Falkirk during early morning snowfall.
Traffic on the M9 near Falkirk during early morning snowfall. Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA

Almost 50,000 homes in the Irish Republic are without power this morning mainly due to Storm Doris felling trees knocking down power lines, writes Henry McDonald.

The Republic’s Electricity Supply Board said the power outages are in counties Galway, Sligo, Leitrim, Mayo and Dublin. Irish airline Aer Lingus has cancelled 12 flights between Ireland and Britain today.

A yellow weather warning has been issued for the Republic by Met Eireann with winds of up to 120km per hour (75mph0 blowing across the country.

There are also reports this morning that fallen debris will cause disruptions on the Belfast to Dublin rail link today. In Northern Ireland some flights from George Best Belfast City Airport have been cancelled.

Google Trends has compiled a list of the five most Storm Doris-related questions asked on the search engine in the last 24 hours.

Here are the answers:

1 The Met Office selects names from a list submitted on social media. This winter’s list began with a male name starting with A - Angus and moved through the list alternating between male and female names. So far we have had Angus, Barbara, Conor and now Doris.

2 About now. It should all be over by this evening.

3 The Met Office and the public via social media

4 Storm Doris is the fourth named storm of the season and likely to be worst storm of winter so far. It is a westerly weather system that has “rapidly deepened” over the last 24 hours, prompting the Met Office to warn of gusts up 80mph to much of England and Wales and snow of up to 30cm to Scotland.

5 The worst of the snow will be in central and southern Scotlan and the Cheviot Hills in Northumberland. The worst of the wind will hit north Wales, North West England, the Midlands and East Anglia.

Yorkshire and north west England is bracing itself for extreme winds as an amber weather warning has been issued for the whole area including Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield and Hull, writes Nazia Parveen.

Highways England issued an alert for major roads in the area including the M1 and M62.
Motorists were warned to expect widespread travel disruption, power cuts and flying debris.

It said there was a particularly high risk for high-sided lorries, caravans and motorbikes and urged drivers to avoid travelling whilst its alert was in place between 6am and 6pm today.

In Merseyside police issued a warning to avoid coastal routes and some train services were also disrupted.


Richard Leonard, Highways England’s Head of Road Safety, said: “We’re expecting Storm Doris to have a significant impact on the roads throughout the day so are urging drivers to consider changing their plans if necessary and to slow down in stormy weather.”

Some trains in the area were also disrupted with Transpennine Express services between York and Newcastle cancelled from 10.45.

Northern Rail said some of their services may be also be cancelled.

A statement on their website reads: “Storm Doris is expected to bring severe weather across the North. “We will make every effort to run as many services as possible. However, some services may be cancelled and we expect journeys to take longer than usual due to speed restrictions on many lines.

“To help minimise disruption, you can use your ticket to travel on any train operator’s services running on the same route. Please be prepared, give yourself extra time and check before you travel at www.nationalrail.co.uk

A 8.40am British Airways flight from Leeds Bradford Airport to London Heathrow was also cancelled.

A Leeds Bradford Airport spokeswoman said: “We are keeping a close eye on the weather forecast and we ask that passengers look at our website but also contact their airlines if they have any other queries.”

The areas forecast for the worst of the storm include Stoke-on-Trent Central and Copeland where byelections are taking place. There are fears that the storm could hit turnout.

The byelection in Stoke Central was caused by the resignation of Tristram Hunt. In 2015 he had the lowest electoral mandate of all the MPs in the Commons.

Even before the storm was forecast there were fears that the Stoke byelection could beat the record low turnout of 18.2% recorded at the Manchester Central byelection in 2012.

In Copeland collecting ballot boxes from some of the higher areas of the Cumbria constituency could be an additional problem if they get snowed in.

Low turn out is likely to hit Labour in both constituencies, but the link between weather and turnout is a bit of myth, according to the New Statesman’s Stephanie Boland. But she adds:

There is one caveat, however. “If you had a January snowstorm”, says John Curtice from the University of Strathclyde, “it would make a difference but for the most part the weather is mildly inclement at these times of year [when general elections are held]. So you might need to take a brolly with you or you might have sunshine but you won’t have a howling gale or snow or serious travel disruption.”

That last point is important. While rain might not put people off voting, difficulties getting to the polling station can. So a truly chaotic storm could affect a result.

Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and candidate Gareth Snell campaigning in Stoke-on-Trent Central last month
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn and candidate Gareth Snell campaigning in Stoke-on-Trent Central last month Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

There has been no sign yet of the deep snow forecast for parts of Scotland and Northumberland, but some of the higher roads have already had dusting of snow.

Snow ploughs and gritters have been out in force.

Warnings of violent storm force 11 winds have been issued in the western shipping areas of Rockall, Shannon and Irish Sea. This is just one notch down hurricane force 12 winds.

The phrase “cyclonic severe gale” cropped up a lot in the latest Shipping Forecast.

Speed restrictions have been imposed on the Tay Road and the Forth Road bridges in Scotland.

Welcome to live coverage on the impact of Storm Doris as it hurtles into the UK bringing snow, gusts of up to 87mph winds and widespread travel problems.

You have been warned ... the Met Office has issued two amber be prepared warnings - one for up to 30cm of snow in Scotland and parts of Northumberland, and one for winds of up to 80mph in Wales, the Midlands, Northern England and East Anglia.

Latest weather warnings from the Met Office.
Latest weather warnings from the Met Office. Photograph: PA Graphics/PA

So far a gust of 87mph gust was recorded at Mace Head on the Galway coast, Ireland on the leading edge of the storm. And Aer Lingus cancelled 12 flights between the UK and the Republic of Ireland in anticipation of the winds. Heathrow airport is warning customers to check their flights before travelling.

Network Rail warned of delays and cancellations after imposing speed restrictions for safety reasons.

Limits of 50mph have set on some services run by Southeastern, Arriva Trains Wales, Chiltern Railways, Grand Central, TransPennine Express and Virgin Trains East Coast.

We will bring you all the latest on what is expected to be eventful ‘Doris Day’.

Updated

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