The south west is expected to be battered by gale force winds caused by Storm Eunice \u2013 they will be at their strongest in coastal areas between 7am to 12pm on Friday morning, with gusts of 90-100mph possible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is an increasing likelihood of widespread inland wind gusts of 60-70 mph and up to 80 mph in a few places. Strong winds are also expected to continue over the weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Met Office says that Eunice may cause \u2018significant disruption\u2019 on the county\u2019s roads, and that there is a good chance that flying debris could result in \u2018a danger to life.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taw Bridge, Barnstaple, is now closed to ALL vehicles, with constant wind speeds exceeding 50mph. Other bridges may also be affected. Wind speeds are being constantly monitored, so please check before you travel. If you must travel during a bridge closure please plan your journey, find a safer alternative route, and leave extra time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The high winds will also affect some other services and all of Devon’s recycling centres<\/a> are closed today (Friday, February 18). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Schools will also be affected – Devon County Council is supporting any school that decides it needs to close today. A list of school closures can be found on Schools Information<\/a> webpage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, the County Council’s school transport service will be operating if it is safe to do so. Parents and carers are asked to visit the school transport route closure website<\/a>, to check if their child’s routes have been closed due to safety concerns.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If students use public transport to get to school we also recommend that they check with the operator to determine if services will be disrupted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Additionally mobile libraries and the Public Health mobile coronavirus testing and vaccination vans will not be running today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And on the coast, flooding and large waves are likely. During these times people are advised to stay away from coastal paths and coastal areas as beach debris is likely to be thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In preparation extra staff are being drafted into Devon County Council\u2019s Network Operations Control Centre and extra highways teams will be ready to respond. Teams of tree-surgeons will also be on stand-by to clear any fallen trees on the county\u2019s roads.<\/p>\n\n\n Councillor Stuart Hughes, Devon County Council Cabinet Member for Highway Management, said:<\/p><\/div>\r\n \t\t \u201cThe Met Office has increased its alert level and Storm Eunice will make travelling conditions quite perilous for during Friday morning and we are advising if you can avoid travelling, please do so.<\/p>\n “Such strong winds may well lead to fallen trees or branches, and other debris. If you must travel, please take extra care, particularly when its dark when its more difficult to see debris on the road.<\/p>\n \u201cTo prepare for this, extra people are being drafted to staff our Network Operations Control Centre and highways teams and tree surgeons are on standby.<\/p>\n “If possible, postpone your journey until conditions improve and if you do have to travel, slow down, allow extra time for your journey and drive according to the conditions. Keep an eye on travel updates and weather forecasts and please plan your journey.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\r\n\t<\/blockquote>\r\n Devon County Council is reminding people of the following advice: <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":859,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[986],"tags":[33,36],"class_list":["post-55082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-roads-and-transport","tag-cllr-stuart-hughes","tag-roads"],"acf":[],"featured_image":false,"category_priority":false,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2028-06-14 01:28:01","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/859"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55082"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55171,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55082\/revisions\/55171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\r\n
![\"Councillor](\"https:\/\/www.devon.gov.uk\/news\/wp-content\/themes\/dcc-parent-v4\/images\/avatar-placeholder.png\"){kind=avatar}
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\u2022 Avoid overnight travel unless absolutely essential as roads will always be more hazardous at night with poorer visibility;
\u2022 Be alert to fallen trees and branches, particularly on minor roads where they may not have been reported;
\u2022 Consider if your journey is essential and be alert to weather warnings;
\u2022 Never drive through floodwater or swollen flowing water, you don\u2019t know how deep it is. Find an alternative route;
\u2022 Allow additional time for your journey;
\u2022 Reduce your speed and leave more space between you and the vehicle in front and leave plenty of room if you\u2019re overtaking;
\u2022 Drive with care and according to the conditions.
For more information and winter travel advice visit the County Council’s winter travel webpages<\/a> or for updates on Twitter follow @DevonAlert<\/p>\n\n\n\n