Storm Doris: 'Weather bomb' causes havoc across West Midlands - PICTURES and VIDEO

The region was dramatically hit by the storm which tragically claimed one woman's life in Wolverhampton as town centres and high streets were closed, while fallen trees blocked roads and hit homes on housing estates.

The Met Office had issued an amber warning for the area.

However, by late morning gusts had strengthened, with fire crews being sent out to tackle fallen trees, damaged buildings and taking numerous calls from people concerned about their safety.

Hundreds of calls were made to the emergency services throughout the course of today - many of them about trees which had uprooted on railway lines and roads as well as structural damage to buildings.

West Midlands Fire Service area commander Jason Campbell said: "We are experiencing a high volume of calls and are currently dealing with around 30 incidents including trees falling on railway lines and roads, structural damage to buildings and that kind of incident.

"If you are travelling on the roads you will be experiencing delays and please switch your lights on so you are visible.

"On the motorways, especially raised sections, be wary of crosswinds.

"Anyone on foot please avoid walking near walls or buildings because there is a chance structural damage could result in materials falling which would seriously injure you if you were unlucky.

"If you know anyone who lives on their own, please check in to make sure they are OK.

"The amber warning is unusual for us, so please be careful."

Woman killed by 'Storm Doris debris' outside Starbucks in Wolverhampton city centre

Follow the day's events through our updates online

In Wolverhampton city centre, Queen Square was closed for public safety reasons over fears that metal could have fallen from a roof, while the Crown Court on Pipers Row was also closed in the morning.

Fire crews used a platform to get to the properties above Yates's in order to retrieve loose material, preventing it falling to the floor.

Trees fell across the city due to the heavy winds, including one on Waterloo Road and another on Penn Road, near The Royal School Wolverhampton.

In Claregate, a tree fell onto a house on Belvedere Gardens after its root came out of the ground.

Manpreet Sehra, 26, who lives on the street, said: "It was right outside my brother's house, whose wife was on the phone to the council at the time to tell them about the tree.

"She saw it come out and it came right across his garden and hit the house.

"He was at work at the time and it is not something you want to come back to."

Also in Wolverhampton, structural damage was caused to the front of the famous Connaught Hotel, with a sign collapsing under the pressure of the storm in the morning.

Highways crews were out across Staffordshire as Storm Doris brought down trees and power lines in parts of the county.

Over a dozen trees were blown down by the strong winds with the south of the county being hit the hardest, while a stretch of the M6 between junction 12 for Gailey and 13 for Stafford South was partially blocked.

A number of roads were affected by fallen trees, branches and debris, including Coulter Lane in Burntwood, Pioneer Way in Stafford and Rugeley Road in Cannock.

Mark Deaville, highways chief at Staffordshire County Council, issued a statement at around 10.30am warning: "Storm Doris is already causing some difficult driving conditions and our crews have been out with the police helping to clear roads where necessary.

"It seems the worst of the weather may be yet to come, so we would urge everyone to take extra care and allow more time for their journeys today."

Staffordshire Police said they had experienced a day of 'unprecedented demand', with six times the expected amount on 999 calls coming in.

Lisa Cope, contact services manager, said: "We have received six times the amount of 999 calls we took last Thursday.

"It is a case where we have seen unprecedented demand for our help but we have luckily had no serious injuries."

WATCH our report as a woman was killed by 'Storm Doris debris' in Wolverhampton today

West Bromwich High Street also fell victim to the storm as the road was closed due to debris falling from a building.

Drivers travelling through the Sandwell area were also hit by flooding on the M5 which affected all lanes between junction 2 at Oldbury and junction 1 for West Bromwich.

The Harry Mitchell Leisure Centre in Smethwick was seriously damaged by a fallen 80 foot poplar tree, which fell from the grounds of the neighbouring cricket club onto the centre.

The site was closed, with Sandwell Council's cabinet member for leisure, councillor Richard Marshall saying that: "Luckily nobody was on the weights at the time as a timber fell from the roof onto some weight training equipment.

"Had somebody been on it they would have been seriously injured.

"There were six people in the gym at the time but fortunately they were down the other end.

"It's a well-used gym and it's a shame that it's closed.

"We'll work with Sandwell Leisure Trust to get the roof fixed and get the gym and sports hall open as soon as we can."

Also in Sandwell, the road at Tipton High Street was blocked off as a tree fell and stretched over the road, forcing cars to drive around it

In Rolfe Street, Smethwick, was also shut after a chimney fell from a roof.

Halesowen Town FC were also hit by the winds, with the clubs dugout left badly damaged.

The club tweeted: "Storm Doris has been to Halesowen and taken our dugouts, she is an unforgiving mistress #UpTheYeltz"

Another sports club caught up in Storm Doris was Springvale Cricket Club in Bilston, with damage cause the the teams clubhouse at Millfield Road.

In the early hours of the morning, homes in Halesowen were hit with a power cut, while trees fell in Kingswinford at Cot Lane, partially blocking the road between A4101 Lodge Lane and Lawnswood Road, and Lightwoods Park in Bearwood, where a large silver birch tree was uprooted.

Also in Dudley, a large tree fell in Windsor Crescent, on the Sledmete Estate, with its roots coming out of the ground.

In Walsall, trees fell across the borough, including at Whitehall Road, Palfrey, while the Victorian Arcade in the town centre was forced to close as parts of its glass roof started to fall in, with customers evacuated at 11am.

A spokesperson for the Victorian Arcade shopping centre said: "The Victorian Shopping Arcade in Walsall Town Centre has been closed due to falling glass caused by the weather.

"Customers and stores evacuated at roughly 11am."

The tree which fell in Palfrey left residents unable to get out at a time when many would have been heading out to work.

Resident Scott Southcart said: "I had just taken the dog for a walk then I came back and saw that the tree had fallen.

"People just don't know what to do and the fire service is so busy we don't know when it will be fixed."

Glenn Leek, 47, from Codsall, was so stunned by the size of a tree which fell at Willenhall Park he took a photograph while on his daily walk.

The employee of Assa Abbloy, who uses the park everyday for a walk during his dinner break, said: "There was quite a bit of damage at the park but this tree that had fallen was huge, I had to take a picture.

"That was by far the worst of the lot.

"We usually go for a walk at the park every day but I do admit we had second thoughts before heading out."

Walsall Fire Station also tweeted pictures from an incident at Aldridge Road, where substantial damage was caused to the roof of a set of stables, while the borough council asked residents to take care on the roads through social media.

Commuters were hit with train delays and flights into and from Birmingham Airport were cancelled, with motorists also hit by delays causing by falling trees.

Train operators London Midland advised against all non-essential travel just after 11am as the reality of the strength of the storm started to sink in.

Queues of people formed in Birmingham New Street station as rail services were plunged into chaos with the disruption caused today.

Network Rail services in and out of Birmingham New Street were hit by cancellations.

They tweeted: "Several cancellations, delays and alterations on all routes."

Meanwhile, two planes had to abort landings as they came in to touch down through the high winds at Birmingham International Airport.

An airport spokesperson said: "Some airlines have taken operational measures to cancel four departures and four arrivals to and from Dublin, Cork, Amsterdam and Munch due to the strong winds."

And Storm Doris certainly made its presence felt for passengers too.

Mark Greenhall tweeted: "Watching planes come into Birmingham Airport sideways is quite something. Pilots earning their money today."

Limited speed restrictions were put in place on London Midlands train services.

Also lines through Wolverhampton Railway Station were disrupted as an object got caught on the overhead electric wires.

Arriva Train West suspended trains or run them at reduced speeds between Wolverhampton and Birmingham International.

Hundreds tweeted London Midland throughout the day as the full force of Doris' chaos continued to hit the region.

A spokesman said: "Where possible, we advised passengers not to travel unless absolutely necessary. We made every effort to get passengers to their destination."

Storm Doris was branded a 'weather bomb' after the system underwent 'explosive cyclogenesis', the Met Office said.

"It has gone through what they call explosive cyclogenesis – so a deepening of 24mb in 24 hours," a spokesman said.

The phenomenon is a rapid fall in the central pressure of a storm system.

Low pressure systems frequently form in the Atlantic Ocean and are an intrinsic part of our wet, windy and stormy conditions.

A number of ingredients are needed to trigger a weather bomb – a strong jet stream must interact with a low pressure system near a warm ocean current.