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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Cathy Owen

BBC Wales weather presenter Behnaz Akhgar gives 'worst weather forecast in 14 years'

BBC Wales weather presenter Behnaz Akhgar described Friday morning's forecast as the "worst one I have had to deliver in 14 years of broadcasting".

She warned that the worst of Storm Eunice will hit Wales mid-morning, and while it will move through quickly, there is the potential for damaging winds coupled with high tides.

Parts of Wales have been placed under a "rare" red alert as Storm Eunice approaches. You can follow live updates from around the country here.

Winds of up to 100mph and flood warnings are in place across Wales for the storm arriving on Friday, February 18. More details here.

Storm Eunice is set to be one of the "most impactful storms to affect southern and central parts of the UK for a few years."

The red warning indicates a "significant danger to life", and covers the south Wales coast between Swansea and Chepstow, as well as parts of southwest England. This is when red warnings have been issued in the past.

The serious alert is in place between 7am and 12pm on Friday, February 18.

Winds of 66mph were recorded in Mumbles at 6am on Friday morning, 62mph in Aberdaron, and 58mph at Pembrey Sands.

Warning people not to go out, Behnaz said: "It is one of the worst forecasts I have ever had to deliver. Some people might be looking out the window and think it is not that bad, but it will be.

"We have an amber warning covering all of Wales where we are expecting winds of up to 80mph. The main area of concern is south Wales from Burry Port to Chepstow, where we have a very rare red warning for the wind.

"With that there is a risk of danger to life, so the advice is to stay indoors and wait for the storm to pass. That's up to 90mph battering South Wales. And with that, we will see damaged buildings, flying debris, powerlines down and trees down potentially.

"There is going to be definitely some travel disruption this morning, but also stay away from those coastal areas. We will have very high spring tides storm surge very likely along the Bristol Channel as well.

"We've got rain to start the day, but it will clear through pretty quickly and this storm will go through pretty quickly as well. So we are expecting the main impact of the storm mid-morning, and then by this afternoon it will ease off slightly, so less of a danger to life later but still will have severe gales through the afternoon as well.

"More windy conditions to come tomorrow with outbreaks of rain over the weekend."

All train services in Wales have been cancelled, and the M48 Severn Bridge is closed, as are the Bwlch, Rhigos and Maerdy mountain roads.

To get the latest Storm Eunice updates from WalesOnline straight to your inbox click here.

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