Storm with no name brings chaos
GAlES of up to 93mph and heavy snow caused widespread chaos yesterday.
The strength of the winds caught forecasters by surprise as roofs were damaged, trees blown on to roads and railway.
More than 150,000 homes in eastern England lost power.
Heavy snow and blizzards in the North resulted in travel chaos and school closures. Scotland was hardest hit, with more than a foot of snow falling on Wednesday night at Eskdalemuir near Dumfries.
Drifting snowfall in north- east England also left vehicles stranded. The Met Office had not given the latest winter storm a name to warn people as it approached the UK because the wind speeds were not predicted to be high enough.
The peak wind speed was 93mph at Capel Curig, North Wales, but gales blew through much of the country. The second highest was 83mph, recorded at Tibenham, Norfolk.
The storm moved on to Continental Europe, where it was named David by the French authorities.
Sara Thornton, a BBC weather presenter, tweeted: ‘Frankly, it’s a mess. The impacts from this storm warranted a name.’
The gable end was torn off a townhouse in Coventry by 70mph winds, leaving a pile of bricks beside the £145,000 property.
Mowa Errabou, 21, was one of a family-of-seven asleep inside when part of the wall collapsed. ‘We just saw the damage and thought, wow, thank God it happened at night time,’ he said.