Storm Eunice tracker: how to follow live UK weather, where is storm now, Met Office radars - and latest news

The internet offers a wealth of tools to help you track the latest weather developments - from satellite maps to live blogs
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As one of the worst storms in a generation hits the UK, millions of people have been urged to stay at home for the day today (18 February).

Due to concerns over flying debris caused by gusts of up to 90mph because of Storm Eunice, schools, roads and businesses have shut, with major disruption to the travel network.

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But what’s the best way of keeping abreast of the latest weather developments?

Here is everything you need to know about following Storm Eunice.

When are the weather warnings in place for?

As is the nature of weather, Storm Eunice will not be affecting everywhere equally at the same time.

It will travel across the country, and as such, the Met Office’s weather warnings - including its “Red” warnings indicating a danger to life - reflect this.

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Those warnings are in place from 7am until midday along the coastline of Devon, Cornwall and Somerset as well as the south coast of Wales, and from 10am until 3pm over the East of England and London, due to the combination of high tides, strong winds and storm surge.

A separate amber weather warning is also in place for gusts up to 80mph covering most of England from 5am to 9pm, as well as yellow warnings for snow in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

(Graphic: JPIMedia/NationalWorld)(Graphic: JPIMedia/NationalWorld)
(Graphic: JPIMedia/NationalWorld)

The Met Office has also taken the unusual step of issuing a severe weather alert with National Highways for strong winds covering the whole of the country’s strategic road network from 6am to 6pm.

Ireland has already borne the brunt of the storm, with thousands of homes in the south of the country without power following the arrival of Eunice in the early hours of Friday.

How can I track the storm?

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The exact location of Storm Eunice is hard to pin down. It’s a large weather system, one that essentially covers the entirety of the UK at once.

Obviously, the best way to ascertain whether Eunice is affecting your local area or not is to simply look out of the window.

But if you want a more detailed picture, there are plenty of websites that allow you to view satellite imagery, which can help even amateur meteorologists pinpoint which areas may be being worst affected at a given time.

The Met Office’s own rainfall radar map is perhaps the most reliable of these, giving a first-glance indication of where precipitation is at its heaviest.

(Images: Getty Images/Windfinder/Meteoradar)(Images: Getty Images/Windfinder/Meteoradar)
(Images: Getty Images/Windfinder/Meteoradar)
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Meteoradar.co.uk is perhaps a more detailed overview of cloud cover in the UK, though its black-and-white presentation is a little less eye-catching than others.

It does offer an animated view of the last hour or so of weather activity, which more clearly shows the path a weather system is taking.

Though Eunice is unlikely to bring electrical storms, if you want to keep track of lightning strikes in your area, the popular lightningmaps.org is a great port of call (it’s fascinating to watch lightning storms rage around the world at any time, really).

But it’s the wind speeds brought by Eunice that will be of main concern. Thankfully, there are a number of online tools you can use to keep track of this, too.

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Windfinder was designed for surfers to find which coastlines are currently offering the best waves.

But it offers a real-time wind and weather map which, especially in times of notable weather events, provides an easy to digest visualisation of where gusts are strongest.

You can also see the Top 20 gusts in the country at netweather.tv; at the time of writing, the Isle Of Portland in Dorset was Top of the Windy Pops, clocking a maximum wind speed of 82ph!

How can I follow the latest news?

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If you want a more local take, many of our sister sites are offering localised live blogs, covering the latest updates, photos and videos as the UK is battered by Storm Eunice.

Viewers up north should take a look at the Yorkshire Post’s blog, while those in Scotland will want to keep an eye on The Scotsman.

Those on the south coast of England can follow Portsmouth’s The News, while Midlands readers will want to keep a tab open on The Derbyshire Times.

Most of our sister titles are offering similar live blogs, so just search for your local area, and you’ll be kept informed of the latest developments.

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