UK weather: Met Office issues urgent warnings for snow, ice & rain – with wild conditions set to linger into Christmas
URGENT warnings have been issued for snow, ice and rain – with wild conditions set to linger into Christmas.
The Met Office has warned the winter weather will likely start setting in today as Brits start preparing for their festive celebrations.
Four yellow warnings are in place across the country today, three are in place tomorrow, and one covers much of Scotland on December 25.
It comes as families travelling across the country on Christmas Eve are being told to brace for any last-minute changes due to Storm Pia battering down.
Rain warnings today cover the west coast of Wales and much of the west coast of Scotland north of Glasgow.
The Met Office warned there’s a chance of flooding, which could cause travel chaos.
Forecasters have also placed snow and ice warnings on the north east coast of Scotland, and Shetland – seeing much of the north covered by warnings.
The snow and ice could make roads dangerous, and forecasters warned motorists should take care behind the wheel.
There is also a chance public transport could be impacted.
Tomorrow the rain warning remains over Wales, while wind warnings are in place for much of Scotland and east coast from Newcastle upon Tyne, down to Hull and inland to Manchester.
Met Office has kept the wind warning in Scotland in place until Christmas Day.
Forecasters say there’s a chance the gusts could cause issues with transport, and homes and buildings could be damaged.
They also warned that coastlines could be dangerous, and there’s a chance people walking on the shores could be injured by crashing waves.
Christmas Day morning is set to be neither merry nor bright for most, with rain across parts of England and Wales.
However, a white Christmas – which is defined as a single snowflake falling on December 25 – is likely for a short period over high ground in the far north of Scotland.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “There’s potentially going to be some travel disruption on Christmas Eve, to the east of the Pennines in particular, because of that wind.
“It’s also going to be a very windy day in Scotland as well, so a chance of some travel disruption and power cuts, particular given the wind we saw recently with Storm Pia.
“As we get into Christmas Day, the outlook is looking rather unsettled at first, there are weather fronts draped over the UK and it’s looking likely that we’ll have rain across much of England and Wales and indeed some showers in parts of western and southern Scotland.
“This will gradually clear up during the day, some people may get a clearer spell in the afternoon, so an unsettled day.
“In terms of a white Christmas, it looks likely, with wintry showers possible over high ground in the far north of Scotland, but not widespread.”
It comes after Storm Pia sparked Christmas getaway chaos on Wednesday as 80mph winds battered Britain and halted festive travel plans.