Brace yourself: Storm Franklin about to hit Ireland and the UK

Residents are being asked to brace yourself as the Met Office issues an amber wind warning as storm Franklin is set to hit the UK, just days after storm Eunice wreaked havoc across large parts of the country.
Franklin is due to hit Ireland in the early hours of Monday morning bringing with it gale force westerly winds.
Met Eireann has said that the storm will be accompanied by “severe and damaging gusts, combined with high seas.”
A record 1.3 million homes were affected by power cuts on Friday, the worst day of storm Eunice with some 155,000 still without power on Sunday.
Power companies have revealed that a record 1.3 million homes were affected by cuts on Friday during the worst of Eunice.
Currently 34,000 customers in southeast England, 42,000 in eastern England, 44,000 in southwest England, 19,000 in southern England, and 13,000 in South Wales are without power.
Western Power Distribution said the South West saw the most widespread power cut ever recorded, saying they had restored power to nearly 461,000 of its customers, and work was continuing to restore supply to the remaining 60,000.
Operations Director Graham Halladay said: “Storm Eunice has brought some of the worst conditions we have ever seen – it is truly unprecedented.
“But I would like to reassure customers that we are working round the clock to get the lights back on as quickly as we can safely do so.”
Met Office weather warnings remain in place for the following areas:

• A yellow warning for rain covering Cumbria, Lancashire, and West Yorkshire until 6pm on Sunday, with a chance of flooding and difficult driving conditions
• A yellow warning for wind in Northern Ireland, southwest Scotland and Irish Sea coasts from midday on Sunday until midday on Monday, with a slight chance of damage to property and power cuts
• A yellow warning for wind across most of England and Wales from midday on Sunday until 3pm on Monday, with damage and disruption possible

Met Office Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “We will see a slight easing in the wind over the evening time tonight, but it’s not long before they pick up again tomorrow to lead to another windy day across the UK.
“This will have an impact on the clearing up process over the course of the day.”
He added that gusts of up to 70mph could be experienced in parts of England
Rail disruption is also expected to continue on Sunday:

• Great Western Railway trains will have a 50mph speed restriction resulting in a reduced service with delays and cancellations
• CrossCountry routes will be open, except for trains between Bristol and Exeter
• Southern Rail: no trains between Redhill and Tonbridge; no trains between Dorking and London Victoria; no trains between Ore and Ashford until at least 8am; no trains between Horsham and Epsom via Dorking until at least 8am; trains will not call at Battersea Park in the direction of Sutton/West Croydon; trains will not call at Christ’s Hospital; trains will not call at Hever or Cowden until 8am; rail replacement buses will continue between Three Bridges and Brighton/Lewes.
• Southeastern Railway said trains between Hastings and Tunbridge Wells would be suspended until at least midday, while the Canterbury East line will also be partly suspended until at least midday
• Great Northern said there would be no trains between Stevenage and Hertford North – and a reduced service between London Kings Cross, Cambridge, Ely, Kings Lynn.

Residents reeling from the impact of storm Eunice will be less than happy to hear that storm Franklin is about to hit, piling further misery on those already badly affected.

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