Eunice prompts school closures
All areas: Winds of up to 80mph leave trail of damage
Storm Eunice swept across the country on Friday bringing gusts of wind, some as strong as 80mph, to the Royal Borough and Slough.
Fallen trees, homes without power and missing fence panels became a common sight in a matter of hours as the storm reached Berkshire on Friday morning.
Prior to Storm Eunice, the Met Office had issued a rare red warning for wind, meaning a danger to life, in place from 10am to 3pm on Friday.
Learning was moved online for many pupils, an unwelcome reminder of the days of lockdown for many, whilst Chalvey’s waste and recycling centre was also closed for the day.
Many train services were also cancelled, whilst bus routes were also delayed with speed restrictions in place due to the strong winds.
In Slough, Granville Road was closed due to a downed power line, whilst Brunel Way was also shut after glass from the Tesco fell out of the overbridge onto the road.
Windsor also saw road closures, with Winkfield
Road being shut in both directions due to a fallen tree. Ascot would also be affected, with overhanging branches and fallen trees causing Coronation Road and London Road to be closed around lunchtime.
Ultimately, the increased demand for the emergency services would lead to reminders to only dial 999 in an emergency.
Thames Valley Police issued several reminders throughout the day, whilst South Central Ambulance Service would declare a ‘critical incident’ as a result of the increased demand.
Following the announcement, Paul Jefferies, assistant director of operations, said: “Declaring a critical incident allows us to seek further support from our partners, and alerts the wider healthcare system to our existing challenges brought about by Storm Eunice in reaching patients as quickly as we would like.
“We will continue to focus on reaching those patients with life-threatening or serious injuries and illnesses first, and unfortunately there will be unavoidable delays in getting to those patients with less urgent needs for which we apologise in advance.”
After the red warning had passed, the winds died down from their peak, although the gusty conditions would remain throughout the weekend.