Storm Franklin threatens UK with more travel chaos and power cuts

Parts of the UK are set to be battered by another bout of hurricane-force winds as the newly named Storm Franklin threatens to cause travel chaos and fresh misery for tens of thousands of families left without power after Storm Eunice.

The Met Office said Franklin would bring strong winds and heavy rain across much of the country and gusts of up to 80mph in Northern Ireland in the early hours of Monday.

It is the first time the Met Office has named three storms within a week since its naming system began in 2015.

The latest severe weather event will pose a challenge for engineers attempting to reconnect the 83,000 households in England and Wales who remain without power following Storm Eunice.

A Met Office spokesman said an amber weather warning for strong winds was in place for Northern Ireland between midnight and 7am on Monday, likely to bring power cuts, damage to buildings, flying debris and danger to life.

He added that gusts would widely reach 60-70 mph in Northern Ireland and up to 80mph on the northern coast.

Storm Eunice caused what providers believe was a record national power outage over a 24-hour period on Friday, with about 1.4m homes affected. Four fatalities have been confirmed, with many more injured by flying debris or falling trees.

The Energy Networks Association said approximately 29,000 customers in south-west England remained without power on Sunday morning, as well as 23,000 in the south-east and a further 20,000 in the wider south of England. About 3,000 households remain without power in south Wales.

The recovery effort from Storm Eunice was being hampered by strong winds across most of England and Wales on Sunday, where a yellow weather warning was in place covering most of the next 24 hours.

Environment agencies have also issued hundreds of alerts for flooding across the UK. The worst of the flooding is expected in the north and west of England, large stretches of central Scotland including the Western Isles and Orkney, and along the River Severn in Wales.

A Met Office spokesman said strong winds and heavy rain would probably mean disruption to the start of the working week, particularly in Northern Ireland, which looks like it will experience the worst of Storm Franklin.

He said: “It will be a fairly blustery week but a bit more typical of what we usually see at this time of year. It will for some not be welcome but the winds will be down a notch from what we saw last week.”

The Met Office’s chief meteorologist, Andy Page, said: “Following the significant impacts of Storm Eunice on Friday, Storm Franklin will bring further high winds for many late on Sunday and into Monday, although not on the same scale as Eunice.

“Coastal areas of Northern Ireland, especially on that north coast, will get the strongest wind gusts, which could be around 80mph in a few places. Amber and yellow wind warnings have been issued, and people should remain cautious ahead of the system that will bring 50-60mph wind gusts for much of the UK from late on Sunday and through Monday.”