Hundreds of thousands of homes are still without power after Storm Eunice tore through the country, while insurers have indicated the clean-up could cost more than £300 million.
At least four people were killed in the UK and Ireland during one of the worst storms in decades, with a gust of 122mph provisionally recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight, which, if verified, would be the highest ever in England.
Clean-up efforts could also be hindered by wet, windy and in some places snowy weather moving in over the weekend, the Met Office has warned.
In an update on Saturday morning, the Energy Networks Association said around 226,000 customers remained without power, while some 1.2 million had been reconnected.
Around 60,000 customers are still without power in the South of England, 58,000 in the South East, 55,000 in the South West, 35,000 in Eastern England and about 15,000 in South Wales, ENA said.
At the height of the storm, planes struggled to land in high winds, the roof of the O2 Arena in London was damaged, and the spire of St Thomas Church in Wells, Somerset, crashed to the ground.
The Association of British Insurers warned previous similar storms have cost around £360 million in repairs.
A spokesperson said: “It is too early to estimate the likely insured cost of Storm Eunice, when insurers will be focusing on assessing damage and helping their customers recover.
“No two storms are the same. The last significant storms to hit the UK – Ciara and Dennis – led to insurers paying out over £360 million.”
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for wind covering the entire south coast and south-west Wales until 6pm on Saturday, and a yellow snow warning for parts of northern England from 11am until 3pm.
On Sunday, a yellow warning for wind is in place for England, Wales, and south-west Scotland, while a yellow rain warning covers Lancashire and Cumbria.
Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said Eunice was one of the worst storms in decades.
“The 122mph statistic was a new provisional record for England in terms of wind gusts,” he said.
