Storm Darragh is set to batter Britain over the weekend – with strong wind and heavy rain set to cause chaos across many areas of the country. Now, the latest weather maps have revealed where will be worst affected.
Weather warnings, including a rare Met Office red alert, are in place across much of the UK – with Christmas events cancelled and a government emergency alert sent to millions of phones on Friday night, predominantly in Wales and the south west of England.
Wind gusts of up to 92mph had been recorded overnight in Capel Curig in North Wales and Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula, according to the Met Office. Elsewhere, gusts of between 72-78mph have been recorded along the coasts of Wales and Northern Ireland.
More than 32,000 properties have also lost electricity across the West Midlands and Wales as the storm arrives in the UK, according to the National Grid at around 5am. Trains have also been cancelled up and down the country, with operators warning of heavy delays, too.
Now, the latest weather maps have revealed the whole of Britain disappearing under a giant wall of rain and snow from 9am on Saturday morning.
Snow is predicted to fall across the Scottish Highlands, as well as an area around the south of Scotland along the English border. Up to nine centimetres will fall in the Stirlingshire area worst hit.
Elsewhere, nearly the whole of England and Wales will be covered by heavy rainfall, with only parts of the east of England expected to escape the torrential downpours this morning.
Wind maps have turned dark purple and red, showing that the heaviest gusts will be in Wales and the south of England as predicted by the Met Office, while a terrifying map compiled by Surfline shows the Storm inching towards UK shores, with huge waves set to crash into southwestern coastlines.
The Cabinet Office’s Emergency Alert system sent a message to every compatible mobile phone in the impacted areas, containing information about the red warning and guidance on how to stay safe into Saturday – with phones making a loud siren-like sound for 10 seconds.
Speaking on Friday, Met Office Chief Forecaster, Jason Kelly, said: “The worst impacts from Storm Darragh will be felt as we go through the early hours of tomorrow morning and throughout Saturday with, in addition to the broad yellow warning, red and amber wind warnings in place from 1 am tomorrow [Saturday]
“In the red warning area, we could see wind gusts of up to 90 miles per hour along the coasts of west and south Wales as well as funnelling through the Bristol Channel, with some very large waves on exposed beaches.
“Although there is a lower likelihood of impacts outside of the red and amber warning areas this doesn’t mean you won’t see them.
“We are likely to see impacts across the whole of the country and people should keep an eye on the latest forecast details and prepare for the bad weather, especially if planning to be out and about on Saturday.
“Some areas are likely to have a relatively quiet start to Saturday, weather-wise, but winds will quickly increase from the west through the day”
