Possible disruption with Royal Mail caused by Storm Eowyn
Storm Eowyn is being widely reported in the media and will affect much of Scotland, Northern Ireland and parts of England to some extent from Friday morning, through into Saturday morning.
The Met Office has issued range of red, amber and yellow warnings for Friday 24 January
- there are yellow warnings for heavy rain in Wales and south west England (midnight to 0900hrs)
- for much of the rest of southern and eastern England, yellow weather warnings are in place for high winds (0500hrs-1500hrs).
- there are amber weather warnings for high winds across most of the northern and western parts of England (0600hrs-2100hrs) and parts of Scotland (from 1300hrs to 0600hrs on Saturday morning).
- On Friday there are now red weather warnings for dangerously high winds in place for
- Large parts of Scotland from 1000hrs – 1700hrs
- Northern Ireland from 0700hrs-1400hrs
There is expected to be widespread disruption to travel this weekend in areas affected by the storm.
Red Weather Warning for parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland
A red weather warning signals a risk to life and advises people not to travel into, out of, through or within those areas for the period the warning is in place.
Royal Mail takes these warnings very seriously and follows government advice. As a result, in areas covered by a red weather warning we will temporarily suspend all outdoor activities for the duration the warning is in place.
Potential Impact to Services on Friday
Northern Ireland – the whole of Northern Ireland is currently subject to a red weather warning from 0700hrs-1400hrs.
Scotland – between 1000hrs-1700hrs the following areas are subject to a red weather warning – Central, Tayside and Fife, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders (including Edinburgh), Strathclyde (including Glasgow).
Services in and into / out of Northern Ireland and affected parts of Scotland
- Given the current weather forecast, particularly given the safety constraints of a red weather warning, there are likely to be significant delays and disruption to services on Friday to Royal Mail operations in, into and out of Scotland and Northern Ireland.
- Services into and out of Northern Ireland are likely to be subject to delays because of disruption and cancellation of ferry sailings on Friday.
- Airports and air network will continue to operate provided it is safe to do so. Royal Mail's air network in Edinburgh and Belfast operates mostly overnight and before the red weather warning comes into place. Operations will be subject to local teams and safety assessments.
- In areas affected by the red weather warning
- Deliveries on Friday will not take place for the period the red warning is in place. They will only resume work after the red weather warning has lifted and conditions are safe. This is likely to mean very limited deliveries of items in Northern Ireland and large parts of Scotland on Friday because of the timing of the warnings being in place for the majority of the delivery working day.
- Mail centre and processing operations located in the area covered by the red weather warning will pause for the period of the warning being in place.
Other Amber weather warnings
· In other parts of the UK; other parts of Scotland, northern and western England and Wales have amber weather warnings for very high winds through Friday.
· This may also lead to some disruption to the collection, transportation and delivery of items via air, rail, road and ferry networks.
· Royal Mail will maintain services wherever it is possible to do so safely. These decisions will be made locally and in line with our severe weather risk management process.
Updates to their service can be found via the following link: Service Updates