Three named storms in one week: England had never experienced anything like that. London had its first-ever “red alert” weather warning. Storm #1 – “Deadly Dudley” as one newspaper headline called it – didn’t prove as destructive as storm #2, Eunice, which raced and raged across Wales, England, and Northern France on February 19, leading to shipping delays in the English Channel and the North Sea.
On February 18, three of the UK’s leading ports, Felixstowe, Southampton, and London Gateway, closed because of the storm. Felixstowe, the number one container port, closed for the weekend, and all transport bookings were canceled there.
Port delays
As the charts below show, Storm Eunice also increased container dwell time at several ports in England and Northern France on February 17-18.
Chart depicting the Container Dwell Time at the Port of Felixstowe
Chart depicting the Container Dwell Time at the Port of London
Chart depicting the Container Dwell Time at the Port of Le Havre
Ongoing delays due to Storm Franklin
Most UK ports were reopened briefly on February 19 after Storm Eunice had passed through. But the third named storm of the week, Franklin, caused further disruption on February 21-22, with port operations at Felixstowe, Southampton, Antwerp, Dublin, and Rotterdam suspended.
The ongoing delays due to an unparalleled three named storms in five days are likely to cause further delays in collections and deliveries of goods during this week.