Amber weather warning as Oldham prepares for arrival of Storm Eunice

Oldhamers are braced for high winds, rain, and possible snow as Storm Eunice arrives in the north west.

It is anticipated Oldham may see gusts of 70 mph quite widely, with the potential for gusts as high as 80mph in exposed elevated areas, and further afield, near the coast.

The highest of these winds in Oldham are expected to be experienced between 1pm and 4pm.

Wintry showers are expected later this afternoon, and the Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for wind until 9pm tonight.

The Met Office says Storm Eunice may cause "significant disruption" due to extremely strong winds.

An amber weather warning suggests that:

• There is a good chance that flying debris could result in a danger to life
• Damage to buildings and homes is likely, with roofs blown off and power lines brought down
• Roads, bridges and railway lines are likely to close, with delays and cancellations to bus, train, ferry services and flights
• There is a good chance that power cuts, possibly prolonged, could occur , perhaps affecting other services, such as mobile phone coverage
• Large waves are likely and beach material is likely to be thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties, and flooding of some coastal properties seems likely.
• It is likely there will be falling branches and some uprooted trees.

Motorists are being advised to travel only when necessary, with lorries, caravans and motorbikes particularly at risk.

National Highways head of road safety Jeremy Phillips said: "We’re encouraging drivers to check the latest weather and travel conditions before setting off on journeys and consider if their journey is necessary and can be delayed until conditions improve.

"If you do intend to travel, then plan your journey and take extra care, allowing more time for your journey.

"In high winds, there’s a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes so we’d advise drivers of these vehicles to slow down."

Tony Rich from the AA is advising that if you do have to travel by car, you should allow much more room on the road.

"Stay back from the vehicles in front, because you don't know if they are going to make any sudden moves.  If you're passing a high-sided ehicle, or vehicles with trailers or caravans, make sure you give them a very wide berth."

The AA is currently receiving a "very high demand" and is asking customers to bear with them.

Meanwhile, rail passengers are being warned of further travel disruption due to Storm Eunice - with a blanket safety speed restriction of 50mph set by Network Rail

The warning comes as Network Rail engineers worked to clear trees and debris from railway lines on the West Coast main line and other key North West rail routes after Storm Dudley yesterday.

With just a few hours calm between the storms, specialist teams worked all day to clear up after Dudley.

Trees were brought down in multiple locations including Levenshulme in Manchester, Penrith in Cumbria, Garstang in Lancashire, and Styal in Cheshire.

With Storm Eunice forecast to be even more ferocious, passengers are being warned that journeys will face disruption.

Phil James, Network Rail’s North West route director, said: “With such strong winds expected from Storm Eunice we know that disruption to passengers’ journeys is inevitable and we strongly recommend people do not travel on Friday. We have rapid response on standby to clear routes impacted by the bad weather and keep train passengers safe.”

Metrolink services are running as normal this morning, though some disruption is expected if debris is blown onto tracks during the storm.  In some cases, debris can cause damage to overhead wires and lineside equipment.

There are no reports of school closures in Oldham this morning.

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