Weather UK weekend forecast – 'Significant' disruption as snow bomb hits and Met Office issues 37 flood warnings
TORRENTIAL rain and a 20cm snow bomb are set to hit Britain over the weekend with 37 flood warnings in place.
Yellow snow warnings are also in place for Scotland today, and have been issued in Wales and parts of England for Saturday – with the potential for 10-15cm in the West Midlands.
An angry band of heavy rain continues to stalk the UK, leaving up 40-50 mm of rainfall across parts of Dartmoor and along the south coast of Cornwall.
The MetOffice warns Brits to prepare for flooding – telling them to expect travel delays and damage to some properties.
Follow our weather live blog below for the latest news and updates from around the country
- Ben Hill
FLOODED ROADS
Motorists struggled to drive along flooded roads in St Ives in Cambridgeshire this morning after the River Great Ouse burst its banks following heavy rain last night.
Meadows around St Ives were also deep under water this morning after the Environment Agency issued 56 flood warnings and 230 flood alerts.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain in the South West until 3pm tomorrow.
Rain, sleet and snow across Scotland are set to move slowly south this morning and there will be heavy, squally showers across southern UK.
- Ben Hill
BOOKIES SLASH ODDS ON WETTEST FEBRUARY
Bookmaker Coral this week slashed the odds on next month being the wettest February since records began to just 6-4 (from 3-1), with forecasts predicting a wet and wild start to the second month of the year.
"The start of February is going to be soaking wet and it's left us no choice but to slash the odds on it going down as the wettest second month of the year we have ever had," said Coral's Harry Aitkenhead.
Coral go 2-1 that the year 2021 enters the record books as the wettest in history.
- Ben Hill
DOWNPOURS LIKELY
On Saturday a further band of rain – linked to Storm Justine – will affect southern England and South Wales bringing downpours.
South Western hills and higher ground of southern Wales may also see some snowfall going into the weekend.
And snow is set to fall over the East and West Midlands, the North West, South West, Wales and parts of the South East from 3am on Saturday until 6pm.
The Met Office has warned that some areas may be cut off due to the extreme weather.
- Ben Hill
FLOOD WARNINGS
There are currently 52 flood warnings in England – with a further 226 alerts, meaning that people should be prepared for flooding.
Neil Davies, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “Despite the treacherous conditions, we protected more than 49,000 homes and businesses across England from flooding during Storm Christoph, but with river catchments now extremely wet and sensitive to further rainfall on saturated ground, we have to remain vigilant to further flooding this winter.
“Our teams are out on the ground checking defences and clearing grilles and screens to make sure we are prepared for the next band of wet weather.”
- Ben Hill
SNOW ON THE WAY
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Neil Armstrong, said: “A weather front moves north eastwards across the UK bringing rain which turns to snow as it pushes further north and meets with colder air.
"This system has prompted a number of warnings including a rain warning for Northern Ireland, while snow warnings will be in force for parts of northern England and Scotland.
“In locations higher than 200m across northern England and southern Scotland we could expect to see around 2-5cm of snowfall, but areas of similar elevation north of Glasgow and Edinburgh could see up to 20cm of snow.”
- Ben Hill
YELLOW WARNING
There is also a yellow weather warning in place for large swathes of the South West of England beginning at 8pm this evening and ending at 3pm on Saturday.
The warning, which stretches from Exeter to Penzance, states that an area of heavy rain may lead to surface water flooding and transport disruption.
And in eastern Scotland around the Aberdeen area, heavy rain is expected to cause travel disruption until midday – with 40mm to fall in some places.
- Ben Hill
WILD WEATHER
Power cuts may occur during the extreme weather, and other services such as mobile phone coverage may be affected.
It comes after large swathes of the UK were blanketed in snow last weekend.
The Met Office said the country had experienced its snowiest spell since late January 2019, when 20 weather stations in England recorded accumulations of two inches or more for three days consecutively.
- Ben Hill
SEVEN INCHES OF SNOW
Up to seven inches of snow is set to fall today as Britain braces for two days of flash floods and power cuts.
The Met Office has issued three yellow weather warnings as the UK also prepares for torrential rainfall this weekend.
Heavy snowfall will bring significant disruption to travel across parts of central and northern Scotland – with a yellow warning in place until midday.
- Abe Hawken
SNOW WAY
The Met Office said the UK had experienced its snowiest spell since late January 2019, when 20 weather stations in England recorded accumulations of two inches (5cm) or more for three days consecutively.
The Environment Agency had 53 flood warnings in place at 5am on Friday, stretching from the Midlands to the North East, meaning immediate action is required.
The same area and the South West had 226 alerts meaning flooding was possible, while there were nine alerts in Scotland and eight in Wales.
- Abe Hawken
BIG FREEZE
The lowest minimum temperature recorded across the UK by 11pm on Thursday was minus 6.8C (minua 20F) at Braemar in Aberdeenshire.
Yellow warnings for rain were in place across the Scottish coast from Perth to Aberdeen as well as further south in Devon and Cornwall early on Friday.
That warning for rain in Devon and Cornwall is repeated on Saturday, along with another for snow across much of Wales and areas including Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire.
- Abe Hawken
SNOW WARNINGS
Travel was expected to be disrupted on Friday due to warnings issued for snow and rain at opposite ends of the UK.
The Met Office placed a yellow warning across parts of central Scotland and the Highlands, adding that rural communities may become cut off, power cuts were possible and transport services were likely to be affected.
Forecasters said snowy conditions could bring “significant” disruption to travel across the region, with a warning in place from 4am on Thursday until midday on Friday.
- Shayma Bakht
SNOW ON SATURDAY TO HIT WEST MIDS
The Met Office has issued a Yellow Warning for snow tomorrow.
It has said: "An area of rain pushing in from the southwest through the early morning will readily turn to snow in places as it encounters colder air.
"There remains a good deal of uncertainty in how far north the rain and snow will get, before the band stalls and starts to move south again as it eases. 3-7 cm of snow is possible to low levels with the potential for 10-15 cm over high ground (above 200-300 m), mainly in Wales and the West Midlands.
"There is a very low chance of perhaps as much 20 cm over highest parts of the Shropshire and Snowdonia."
- Shayma Bakht
UK YELLOW WEATHER WARNINGS TOMORROW
- Shayma Bakht
MORE RAIN ACROSS THE UK AND SNOW IN SCOTLAND TOMORROW
- Shayma Bakht
FROST FREE NIGHT FOR MOST
- Shayma Bakht
GIANT LANDSLIP IN NORFOLK
A recent landslip on the cliff edge and beach in the village of Happisburgh, England has left an enormous gaping hole by a beach in Norfolk.
The erosion of the Norfolk sandy cliffs and sand dunes has caused many buildings and farmland to be lost to the sea in recent years.
These are the effects of global climate change causing storms and sea swells, which have caused the United Kingdom to lose up to one metre of coast line each year.
- Shayma Bakht
FRIDAY WEATHER MAPS
- Dan Keane
'FROST-FREE'
The Met Office says that it will be another cold night in Scotland, with temperatures set to dip to -2C in Braemar.
The Mercury will hover around 8C in the South East of England, and reach 5C in the North West.
- Dan Keane
RAIN TO CLEAR FOR A DRY NIGHT
Rain expected to settle in for the afternoon over much of the UK will likely clear for a dryer night.
"Mostly light rain in the evening will move away eastwards to leave the rest of the night dry but largely cloudy," Met Office said.
Winds would likely ease, and minimum temperatures would hover around 3C.
- Shayma Bakht
ANOTHER BAND OF RAIN WILL MOVE ACROSS THE UK TOMORROW
- Shayma Bakht
IN PICTURES: Cars try to drive through floodwater in Mountsorrel in Leicestershire today
- Shayma Bakht
EVENING FORECAST
Rain and showers will continue across the UK this evening – moving eastwards.
The Met Office says: "Bands of rain and showers, some heavy, will move east across central and southern areas, becoming slow moving across Scotland where some heavy snow is expected over the hills. Windy with coastal gales in the south-west."
- Jon Rogers
RAIN HEADING EASTWARDS THIS EVENING
The heavy rain currently battering the UK will move eastwards as the evening progresses.
Northern parts of Scotland will also see snow, according to the latest prediction from the Met Office.
- Jon Rogers
MAN KILLED BY LIGHTNING IN JOHANNESBURG AS STORMS RAGE
A man has died after being struck by lightning in Sophiatown, west Johannesburg.
The man in his mid-20s, who has not been named, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, according to TimesLIVE.
The SA Weather Service (Saws) has issued an “orange warning” for disruptive rainfall in parts of Mpumalanga, Gauteng and the western bushveld of Limpopo, as well as the northeastern parts of North West.
The rain is expected from Thursday and could continue throughout the weekend.
- Jon Rogers
UP TO SEVEN INCHES OF SNOW TO FALL IN 24 HOURS
Up to seven inches of snow is set to fall across parts of the UK in the next 24 hours – followed by torrential rain and flooding.
The Met Office has issued three yellow weather warnings today for snow and rain as flash floods and frosted flakes batter parts of Britain.
Today's weather warnings across northern parts of Britain are set to bring torrential downpours and more snow.
Parts of Liverpool and Manchester are being braced for flooding – with up to 15mm of rainfall expected to saturate the ground.
Read more here.
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