Met Office issues new urgent storm warnings as UK regions set for 85mph brutal battering
The Met Office will activate two new weather warning in hours as several regions brace for brutal winds which are set to cause fresh chaos.
A large swathe of the UK is under fresh alert as winds of up to 85mph could bring towns to a standstill in a matter of hours. The new warnings, from the Met Office, comes into effect from Wednesday at 9am, with its expiry at 5pm.
The forecaster warns: "Very strong southwesterly winds will develop during Wednesday, easing again from the west later in the day.
"Gusts of 65-75 mph are likely, with a few places perhaps seeing gusts of up to 85 mph at times. Over northwest Scotland these windy conditions will be accompanied by heavy rain for a time, during the morning and early afternoon."
Amid the brutal speeds which are set to ramp up from around 45mph for some places, there is also a danger to life warning due to the risk of loose debris flying in off coastlines and buildings.
In terms of what to expect, there's a slight chance of damage to buildings, such a tiles blown off roofs, some homes may be without power for a time, and there could be interruptions to mobile phone signal.
Large waves could also pose a risk to resident safety, the forecaster added. Roads may present hazardous driving conditions and some public transport routes may be disrupted at the last minute.
Roads and bridges may also be shut with little notice. This warning culminates the end of others which have been in place across Britain from Monday.
People are urged to check their properties for loose tiles, and potentially lightweight garden furniture which may be taken off by strong gusts.
Those living in regions prone to power loss should ensure they have working torches, batteries and mobile phone battery packs to allow for remote charging without plugging into the mains.
Full list of affected areas
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Dundee
- Falkirk
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
Grampian
- Aberdeenshire
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Eilean Siar
- Highland
North East England
- Darlington
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- South Tyneside
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
North West England
- Cumbria
Northern Ireland
- County Antrim
- County Londonderry
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- East Ayrshire
- East Dunbartonshire
- East Renfrewshire
- Glasgow
- Inverclyde
- North Ayrshire
- North Lanarkshire
- Renfrewshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
Yorkshire & Humber
- North Yorkshire
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Met Office outlook: The long-range forecast
Looking ahead from this weekend, until February 12, the UK will be peppered with a range of weather conditions including wintry weather risks.
It says in full: "Changeable conditions at first, with spells of mild, wet and windy weather punctuated by drier, cooler interludes. The northwest is likely to see the heaviest and most frequent or most persistent rain, while the southeast will tend to be drier overall.
"Largely cloudy with the best of any sunshine in the east. There is a chance colder conditions could then become established more widely during the first full week of February, with increased chance of wintry weather, especially northern and central UK, should Atlantic cloud and rain be forced to track across the south of the country.
"Equally, similar conditions to the start of the period could well prevail; confidence is low at this range in the weather type which will become most dominant."