The Met Office has issued multiple wind, rain and snow warnings as disastrous conditions are expected to cause travel disruption and power cuts across the country
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Storm Bert: Amber snow warning issued
Brits have been warned to prepare for a “multi-hazard event” – with fierce winds, monstrous waves, flooding and snow.
The Met Office has issued a major update for people across the country as a new storm system strikes parts of the UK. Storm Bert has sparked a turbulent start to the weekend, with snow expected to accumulate at least 20 to 40mm above ground.
The weather service tweeted: “Storm Bert is expected to bring several weather impacts across the UK on Saturday.” They told Brits to expect two to four hours of snow before “rapid thaw” and warned there could be “power disruption”. The disastrous conditions will also include heavy rainfall of 50 to 90mm.
Strong winds will travel up to 60mph for some of the most “exposed locations” and “large waves”. It comes as the forecaster issued several weather warnings. An amber alert for heavy snow and ice will be in force between 7am and 5pm on Saturday in an area north of Scotland’s central belt, where 10-20cm is likely on ground above 200 metres and potentially as much as 20-40cm on hills above 400 metres.
The warning covers parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirlingshire, Aberdeenshire and some of the Highlands and Argyll and Bute. Meanwhile, yellow wind, rain and snow warnings cover much of the rest of the UK. Wind warnings cover Scotland from 5am until 7pm on Saturday.
Rain and snow warnings cover northern England from 4 am to 9am and Northern Ireland from midnight on Friday until 11am on Saturday. Rain warnings cover much of Wales from 6am on Saturday until 6am on Sunday, and south-west England from 6am on Saturday until 11.45pm. A wind warning also covers coastal areas of southern England from 3pm until 9pm on Saturday. Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: “We’re looking at strong winds, some high snowfall accumulation, heavy rain, all in various different parts of the UK.
“So it’s quite a complex weather set-up for the weekend. Generally speaking, it’s a very unsettled weekend of weather ahead.” He advised the public to keep an eye on the weather in their areas. “Because of the different nature of the weather across the UK, people really need to have an idea of what the forecast is for them specifically,” he said.
“Further south it’s wind and rain, further north it’s snow then rain and wind. So it really depends on where you are in the UK. Keep on top of the forecast for your area, and prepare as necessary. Obviously, with snow and ice there could be some pretty tricky conditions, especially in the morning (on Saturday), so if you are going to leave the house pay attention to what’s going on in your area with the local authorities.”
