Freezing jet stream from US could blast towards UK for New Year
A jet stream of the icy air which has plunged parts of the US into a deadly deep freeze could be heading towards the UK, the Met Office has warned.
The forecasters shared footage of the air current’s projected path on Twitter, predicting it could lead to ‘unsettled conditions’ over New Year.
It adds: ‘This is partly related to the cold air that has been spreading across North America, helping to strengthen the jet stream and push low-pressure systems across the Atlantic.’
A yellow weather warning for rain was issued for parts of the south west of the country on Wednesday.
Affected areas include Cornwall, Devon, Plymouth, Somerset and Torbay as well as Blaenau, Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly and Cardiff aand parts of south west Wales.
Rain is expected to be heavy over the high ground of south Wales and Dartmoor, with a few places likely to get up to 60 mm in nine to 12 hours, before clearing during this afternoon.
Spray and flooding on roads is expected to make journey times longer with flooding of homes and businesses ‘likely’.
On Friday, a yellow weather warning for rain has been issued for south western parts of Scotland.
Patchy ice is likely to develop on untreated surfaces with the potential for some wash-off of previously treated surfaces where showers fall.
Meanwhile, record-breaking freezing temperatures have blasted across large parts of the US, leaving more than 60 people dead.
The temperatures have even led Niagara Falls to almost freeze over as the deadliest storm in 50 years hits.
Those living in Buffalo have been forced to risk their lives as they search for their cars buried deep beneath the snow.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said: ‘This is a war with mother nature, and she has been hitting us with everything she has.
‘It is like going to a war zone, and the vehicles along the sides of the roads are shocking.’
She called the blizzard which hit Buffalo – which is her hometown – a ‘one in a generation’ storm.
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