Arrival of Storm Babet sees yellow weather warning issued across UK
The unseasonal heat earlier this month is feeling like a very distant memory, as the latest rain warning from the Met Office pops up on phone screens around the country.
Storm Babet is on its way, and the weather agency says a large swathe of the country is due a soaking for no fewer than two full days.
Its warning of ‘very wet weather’ comes into effect at 9pm on Wednesday, and will last all the way through Thursday and Friday until things finally start to relent at 6am on Saturday.
The alert covers most of southern Scotland, including Arran and the Kintyre peninsula, and much of the English east coast as far as Ipswich.
Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield and Norwich are among the cities being warned that some homes and businesses could be flooded, while there is a ‘slight chance’ of travel disruption too.
Meanwhile, a separate yellow warning for rain covers the east of Northern Ireland, including Belfast and Newry, between 6am tomorrow and 12pm on Thursday.
Later in the week, further warnings for wind and rain will come into effect for parts of Scotland. A series of maps showing what warnings will be in force for particular areas at particular times can be found below.
The Met Office’s summary says: ‘Storm Babet will bring a period of very wet weather to parts of eastern England, southern Scotland and the Pennines later this week.’
Storm Babet (pronounced bah-BETT – somebody please get the Met Office a new baby name book) was only officially named at 11.30am, but it is expected to arrive with a fanfare of wind and showers tomorrow evening.
Steven Keates, the deputy chief meteorologist for the agency, said we should expect warnings to change over the course of the week as the impact of the storm becomes clearer.
He said: ‘Storm Babet will bring impactful rain to many parts of the UK, but especially parts of eastern Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England later this week.
‘Heavy and persistent rain will fall onto already saturated ground bringing a risk of flooding.
‘It is important to stay up to date with warnings from your local flood warning agency as well as the local authorities.’
He added: ‘As well as heavy rain, Storm Babet will bring some very strong winds and large waves near some eastern coasts too. Gusts in excess of 60mph are possible in eastern and northern Scotland from Thursday.
‘It is likely Met Office warnings will be updated through the week.’
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