Storm Gerrit will batter parts of Britain today with the Met Office issuing nine yellow weather warnings for rain, wind and snow. Forecasters warn the storm will bring strong winds and heavy rain to many parts of the UK on Wednesday (December 27), with wintry hazards also likely.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said Storm Gerrit will head towards western Britain and bring with it potential impacts for much of the UK.
He added: “Winds across southern coastal areas of England will be strong, possibly peaking around 70 mph on exposed coastlines, but more widely around 50-60 mph within the warning area.
“Rain is an additional hazard from Storm Gerrit, with active weather fronts leading to a wet day for many. Snow is also likely to cause problems for some northern areas: only briefly for a few upland routes across the Pennines and southern Scotland overnight and early on Wednesday, but more widely to the north of the Central Lowlands later in the day.”
Mr Saunders said in this area around 10 to possibly 20cm of snow may affect some of the highest routes. He added: “This combining with very strong winds [is] to lead to some difficult travel conditions. At lower levels a combination of heavy rain and very strong winds will dominate.”
Network Rail Scotland has warned passengers speed restrictions will be in place on Wednesday and to check for cancellations. A yellow rain and snow warning is in place from 6am to 9pm across much of Scotland on Wednesday.
There are wind warnings out for the south of England, across the English Channel coast, parts of western Wales, north-west England, Northern Ireland, northern Scotland and the Northern Isles.
Wind warning areas can expect gusts of 50-60mph, with up to 70mph on high ground and exposed coasts. Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely.
There are rain warnings out for the whole of Northern Ireland, western Wales, north-west England, and a combined rain and snow warning for Scotland.
Rain in the warning areas is forecast to be between 40-60mm, with the potential for 70-90mm in the western hills of Wales and the western side of the Pennines. There is a chance of power cuts, as well as a small chance homes and businesses could be flooded, according to the Met Office.
Storm Gerrit will move gradually to the northeast late on Wednesday and into Thursday (December 28), according to the Met Office. But more unsettled weather is likely later this week, with strong winds, rain and some upland snow.
A yellow weather warning for wind and snow will be in force across the Shetland Islands from 9pm on Wednesday until 6am on Thursday. A second yellow weather warning applies to western Wales and north west England from 6pm today to 3am on Thursday.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge has said Storm Gerrit was named as a warning to people coming home after the Christmas holidays. He said: “Due to the extent of the warnings that are being issued, it was deemed that a named storm would be a good idea because it will highlight to the public the risk associated, particularly as tomorrow is likely to be quite a busy day on the roads with people travelling back home from Christmas and things like that.”
A storm is named when it is deemed to have the potential to cause medium or high impacts on the UK and/or Ireland. The Met Office and Met Eireann launched the scheme in 2015 to name storms as part of efforts to raise awareness of extreme weather events.
