Violent storms with winds up to 80mph brought chaos to the Huddersfield area.
And the biggest casualty was the £73m flagship Kirklees College, which only opened in September, as it failed to withstand the gales.
All 1,200 all students at the Huddersfield Centre’s Waterfront Quarter, were sent home.
Panels of cladding were ripped loose from the walls in the high windows and sections of the campus were cordoned off.
There were fears the cladding panel would crash through the glass roof of the huge college atrium.
Staff told students that once they had finished their lunch or current class to go home.
Melanie Brooke, vice-principal at Kirklees College, said: “During the exceptionally high winds at lunch time yesterday, a piece of cladding was lifted off the Huddersfield Centre.
“Putting the safety of our students first, we took the decision to close the building to students for the rest of the afternoon.
“Also due to extreme conditions we couldn’t safely assess the damage and we were not going to take any chances.
“A small part of the main thoroughfare of the college which is open to both students and public was deemed to be potentially unsafe, and so this is why we took the decision.
“Staff have been working closely with students to ensure they have a safe journey home..
“Approximately 1,200 students out of a total of 20,000 across Kirklees have been affected today, but all other centres have remained open.
“The restaurant is unaffected and did open last night, however evening classes at Huddersfield were cancelled.
“We’re pleased to say that we’re open as usual on Friday.”
Metre after metre of the blue slate roof of the shop unit was ripped out by the 80mph-plus gusts.
Bradford-based businessman Tariq Nazir was assessing the cost of repairing the damage.
The filling station complete with a 24-hour mini-market is set to reopen on the site of the old BP garage which was abandoned years ago.
Thee Trans-Pennine Woodhead Pass was closed for a time.
Meanwhile in Brighouse staff ran out of Boothwires Ltd at Springvale Works, Elland Road, Brookfoot, when a 40ft-tree crashed down.
A member of staff, who didn’t want to be named, said: “All we heard was a bang.
“It hit the ground and a water tank but no damage was done.”
The Highways Agency said wind speeds had built steadily overnight across the north and maximum gusts were recorded at the Flouch Roundabout, (58mph) and Scammonden M62, (32mph).
Elsewhere, wind speeds reached almost 80mph.
Emergency services were kept busy with West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service attending 60 wind-related incidents between 6.30am and 3pm yesterday.
Most of the dangerous structure incidents were in Leeds, but others were in Wakefield, Calderdale and Kirklees..
Engineers were called out to deal with power cuts in Emley, Mirfield, Lepton and Holmfirth.
Residents were advised only to make essential journeys, secure wheelie bins and keep pets inside.
Police warned motorists that there was “widespread disruption on the West Yorkshire road network.”
The A1 north bound was closed at one point due to an overturned lorry.
The high winds caused havoc across Calderdale with police closing the road at Crag Lane, Wheatley, after a motorist had a lucky escape when a tree fell in front of his car.
Cleckheaton firefighters retrieved a garden shed which had been blown into a field and then cut up a tree which had crashed through the window of a detached house.
Strong gusts also disrupted some flights at Leeds Bradford Airport.
Among those cancelled were a Flybe service to Southampton, a BA flight to Heathrow and a KLM flight to Amsterdam.
Two people were killed as fierce winds battered the country.
A man died after he was struck by a falling tree in a park in Retford, Nottinghamshire, and a lorry driver was killed when his HGV toppled on to a number of cars in West Lothian, Scotland.
The powerful storm also led to the evacuation of thousands of families living on the east coast.
More than 10,000 homes in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex are being evacuated after officials warned that the lives of people in the region could be at risk from the worst coastal tidal surge for over 60 years.
The Environment Agency (EA) has issued a number of severe flood warnings – the highest category, which are only issued when flooding poses a danger to life – to the east coast and north Wales as high tides and strong winds threatened to swamp the coastline.
Across the country tens of thousands of properties were hit by power cuts as winds of up to 140mph battered power lines.
It has also issued national severe weather warnings for strong winds.
The adverse weather also caused chaos to the rail network, with services for Scotland and parts of the north of England suspended. Trains were halted at their nearest stations and passengers told to disembark after Network Rail said debris on lines and damage to equipment meant it was not safe to operate any services.
