UK Weather: Storm Eleanor Sees Thousands Without Power As 100mph Winds Batter Britain

It sounds like 'the 3 horsemen of the apocalypse riding down the road'.
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Thousands of homes are still without power after the UK was hit with winds of up to 100mph as Storm Eleanor swept across the country. 

The fifth-named storm of the season arrived late on Tuesday and while the Met Office said early Wednesday that it was “moving out into the North Sea”, many Yellow warnings remained in place.

Northern Ireland Electricity said around 20,000 customers had suffered power outages and by 7am, 3,000 households were still affected. The BBC further reported that 2,700 properties were affected in England - 2,000 of which were in the Midlands - and 460 in Wales.

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Waves crash over the stone jetty wall in Aberystwyth in west Wales as Storm Eleanor hits
PA Wire/PA Images

Meanwhile, people on social media have told of been woken by howling winds between 2am and 3am. 

One user described the noise as sounding like get “the 3 horsemen of the apocalypse riding down the road”.

At 6.40am the Met Office reported that Great Dun Fell had experienced gusts of 100mph, while in Northolt, north-west London, speeds of up to 73mph were detected.

So far the only reported injury caused by the storm was a man hurt in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, after a tree fell on his car. 

Authorities have warned the storm may also disrupt public transport, but forecasters say the rain and the winds will ease throughout the day. 

There is disruption on the Gatwick Express, Southern and Thameslink, with Network Rail warning services are subject to being cancelled, delayed by up to 15 minutes or revised. The disruption is expected until at least 10am. 

Flooding has been reported in Galway in the Republic of Ireland, where 97mph gusts were recorded. 

Highways England reported a number of disruptions on the roads including two lanes of the clockwise section of the M25 near Chorleywood in Hertfordshire.

Due to fears around high winds part of the Dartford Crossing - the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge - was shut at 11pm. 

The Severn Crossing between Gloucestershire and Monmouthshire and the Orwell Bridge near Ipswich also closed overnight due to the high winds, the BBC reported. 

The Environment Agency has warned that the combination of strong winds and high tides could cause some coastal flooding in the UK.

More than 60 flood warnings are in place in England, alone. 

In Wales there are a further 36 flood warnings and 30 flood alerts, while in Scotland 14 flood warnings and five flood alerts are in place.

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Dozens of flood warnings are in place across England
Environmental Agency
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Natural Resources Wales