Cars flattened, roofs ripped apart, schools closed and significant travel disruption… the Isle of Wight felt the full force of Storm Eunice today (Friday) – the worst storm in over 40 years.
As the extent of the storm ahead became clear, the local authority advised all schools to close – a decision that proved the right one as 125.4mph record-breaking gusts were recorded at The Needles shortly after 11:30, as the storm peaked.
The previous record gust was 118mph at Gwennap Head, Cornwall in December 1979, some 43 years ago.
Injury was avoided when a Toyota Yaris was completely flattened by a large tree on the Camp Hill estate in Newport, as pictured above. Police were sent to the scene and remained there for several hours over concerns for other large trees in the residential area.
In Ryde, a number of properties in the Oakfield area had their roofs ripped apart by the hurricane-force gusts that whistled through. Homeowners were left terrified as the roofs were peeled back with an almighty crash. A wall was also blown down in nearby Simeon Street, close to the Esplanade.
In Newchurch, the spire of the village’s church was snapped in half and left hanging dangerously. Meanwhile, in Cowes, a residential property was also put in danger when a large tree fell and blocked the road at Pine Tree Close. A gable end fell away at Pelham Road in Cowes too.
As well as the significant level of damage, travel disruption was caused by Storm Eunice with all ferries to and from the Isle of Wight suspended for a time. By 15:00, Red Funnel had managed to resume their East Cowes-Southampton vehicle ferry service.
Southern Vectis took the decision to suspend all of their bus services on the Island, with South Western Railway also bringing Island Line trains to a halt.
The red weather warning for wind – as first issued by the IW Met Service and reported by Island Echo – has now expired, however, a yellow weather warning has been issued for tomorrow (Saturday). Forecasters say that between 08:00-16:00 there will be gale-force winds, although the impact is expected to be far less than seen today. Still, 70mph winds could be seen with heavy rain at times.
I was a bit worried about the caravan in my garden this morning.
As it was not there last night.
Wow.
My wheelie bins got a speed awareness course next week.. 🙂