Storm Éowyn causes widespread disruption in North East as winds up to 96mph batter region

The A19 Northbound was closed due to a overturned lorry
-Credit:Newcastle Chronicle


Storm Éowyn caused widespread disruption across the North East on Friday, as winds of up to 96mph battered the region.

Tens of thousands of homes were left without power, many schools were forced to close, and several roads were obstructed due to fallen debris and trees.

By 2.30pm on Friday, Northern Powergrid had recorded that a total of 40,967 households had been affected by outages in Northumberland, County Durham and Tyne and Wear. Teams had been working through the day to restore power for households, however, 26,452 were still without power.

READ MORE: Pictures show how Storm Éowyn gave the North East a battering

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READ MORE: Northumberland town's main shopping street closed as high winds blow roof onto road

Several schools were also closed as a result of the weather, with 18 schools in Northumberland making the early decision to close on Thursday evening. By Friday, that number had more than trebled as 56 schools announced a temporary closure due to the "weather warning and potential health and safety risk".

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Northumberland appeared to be the worst hit area in the North East and the area where the highest wind speed was recorded in the region. The Met Office reported that a top speed of 96mph was recorded at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland. This was slightly higher than the day’s previous top speed of 93mph measured at Aberdaron in Gwynedd, north Wales on Friday morning.

It resulted in a number of incidents on the roads, including two overturned lorries on the A697 near Glanton and the A19 Northbound.

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The A19 in Northumberland was closed in both directions as emergency services responded to the incident. The road was able to reopen later that afternoon.

There were also reports of an overturned vehicle on the Redheugh Bridge, which later closed due to high winds.

And elsewhere in Newcastle city centre, the A186 Westmorland Road was closed between the junctions of Marlborough Crescent and St James Boulevard after cladding fell from a building into the road.

Hexham's Fore Street was also cordoned off after tiles were reported to have blown off a roof. The roof of a home under construction was also blown off in Amble.

Metros, trains and flights had to be cancelled or delayed as a result of the high winds. Metro services between Airport and Regent Centre were suspended for several hours due to a fallen tree leaning over the overhead lines near Fawdon.

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While at Newcastle Airport, a series of arrivals and departures had to be cancelled. Most of the cancelled services were domestic flights, though services to and from Paris and Stavanger from Air France and Loganair also had to be called off.

Many rail operators took the early decision to issue a 'do not travel' alert for passengers travelling in the north of England on Friday, while LNER cancelled all of its trains running north of Newcastle in both directions.

Rail passengers were warned to expect delays and short notice cancellations should they decide to travel on Friday.