Western Europe cleans up after storm leaves at least 12 dead

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By JILL LAWLESS

LONDON (AP) — Crews cleared fallen trees and worked to restore power to about 400,000 people in Britain as Western Europe cleaned up Saturday after one of the most damaging storms in years.

At least 12 people were killed, many by falling trees, in Ireland, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. Named Storm Eunice by the British and Irish weather services, and Storm Zeynep in Germany, Friday’s storm was the second to hit the region in a week.

Winds toppled the spire of a church in Wells, southwest England, ripped off parts of the domed roof of London’s O2 Arena and left a trail of felled trees and damaged buildings across several countries.

A gust of 122 miles an hour (196 kilometers an hour) was provisionally recorded Friday on the Isle of Wight. If confirmed, it would be the highest ever in England. Hurricane-force winds begin at 74 mph.



Emergency personnel from the Kiel-Russee Volunteer Fire Department, in the pouring rain, pull a tree that has been blown down by gusts of wind to the ground with a rope in Kiel, Germany, Friday, Feb. 18, 2022. The weather system, known as Storm Zeynep in Germany, is now pushing into the European mainland, prompting high wind warnings in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. (Axel Heimken/dpa via AP)


Read more: https://apnews.com/article/storms-trees-europe-weather-ireland-9e50034d6839efe86c26203af2f1a967

[DFW]

1. It blew down so many power lines here that I couldn't get home by train yesterday

I had to take a train back up to the Düsseldorf airport (they were still running for a while), and my wife picked me up there in her car, drove me back to our local train station, where my car was still parked when I left for Holland early yesterday morning, and then we both drove home. It blew like hell through the night, but it's gone now except for a few puffs here and there. It either dissipated, or moved on further east. If there's any justice, it's blowing a few of Putin's Sukhoi planes on their backs right now, and tossing a few uprooted trees in the intended path of his tanks.

[Farmer-Rick]

2. Funny that the bad weather Shorty Putin is partially responsible for creating

Is getting in the way of his army.

Stay safe. Those are tornado speed winds. Wow.

[DFW]

3. Yeah, there was plenty of stuff flying through the air, and we didn't want to join it

We spent the evening indoors, believe me!