Tag: Met Office

UK braced for Storm Dennis

Storm Dennis will bring very heavy rain and strong winds to the UK this weekend, with a risk of flooding and travel disruption in some areas.

The Met Office has issued multiple National Severe Weather Warnings for wind and rain from Saturday through to Monday, including several amber rain warnings for parts of England and Wales.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Steve Willington, said: “Storm Dennis will bring another very unsettled spell of weather this weekend with a risk of flooding, particularly in parts of England and Wales and also southern Scotland, where snowmelt will add to the flood risk.

 “Following Storm Ciara last weekend and further spells of rain this week, the ground is already saturated in places. With Storm Dennis bringing further heavy and persistent rain over the weekend, there is a risk of significant impacts from flooding, including damage to property and a danger to life from fast flowing floodwater.

“Our advice is to keep an eye on the latest weather forecast and weather warnings for your area and to follow the safety advice from officials.”

Caroline Douglass, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said: “We are advising people to sign up for flood warnings by phone, text or email and to access the latest safety advice on gov.uk by searching ‘sign up for flood warnings’.

“Remember to never drive or walk through flood water, just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car – it’s not worth the risk.”

In addition to rain warnings, the Met Office have issued several wind warnings over the weekend.

Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Laura Ellam, said: “It’ll be windy across the UK this weekend – on Saturday the strongest winds will be across England and Wales, and on Sunday the strongest winds will be across Northern Ireland, Scotland, and parts of northern England and north Wales, with coastal gales of 70mph at times.

“Monday will be another windy day, but the heavy rain will be replaced by blustery, wintry showers.”

You can get the most accurate and up to date forecast for your area using the Met Office forecast pages and by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store. 

Yellow weather warning remains in place … and here comes Dennis

A Met Office Yellow Warning for snow and ice remains in place today – the  forecast is windy with wintry showers, drying up this afternoon.

The Queensferry Crossing remains CLOSED.

Today:

Further wintry showers in the morning. These becoming less widespread in the afternoon with more in the way of dry and sunny weather especially in east. Strong winds easing. Maximum temperature 5 °C.

Tonight:

Any showers dying out this evening with clear spells allowing a frost for a time. Becoming cloudy overnight with sleet, snow, easterly winds, reaching Southwest and Borders. Minimum temperature -2 °C.

Tomorrow (Thursday):

Sleet or snow in morning, early afternoon, east coast rain, with strong northeast winds. Possibly disruptive snow high ground in south. Becoming drier in afternoon with some sunshine, winds easing. Maximum temperature 5 °C.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Heavy rain arriving on Friday, thaw, clearing to scattered showers. Windy. Dry start Saturday then more heavy rain, windy again. Sunshine, showers Sunday with gales or severe gales.

Storm Dennis to bring heavy rain and gales 

Named by the Met Office, the impacts from this low-pressure system are not expected to be as extreme as Storm Ciara but will bring widespread strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK.

The system will develop in the North Atlantic before tracking eastwards towards the UK and Ireland over the coming days, passing to the north of Scotland on Saturday. A National Severe Weather Warning for wind has been issued for much of England and Wales, further warnings are likely to be issued in the coming days.

Steve Ramsdale, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office said: “Another spell of very wet and windy ​weather is expected for Saturday, although Storm Dennis is currently not expected to be as severe as Ciara disruption is still likely.

“Our confidence in the forecast means we have been able to issue severe weather warnings well in advance, giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm.

“With further warnings possible over the next few days people should keep up to date with the Met Office forecast using our website, app or by following us on social media.”

Over the weekend wind gusts will widely reach in excess of 50mph, even across some inland areas, with gusts of over 60mph possible over hills, coastal areas and exposed locations.

While these winds have the potential to bring impacts they are not as strong as the gusts we saw last weekend with Storm Ciara when a gust of 97mph was recorded on the Isle of Wight.

Heavy rain is also expected with the storm and with already saturated ground there is a risk of further flooding. Storm Dennis is expected to bring a range of impacts, including delays and cancellations to transport services, damage to power supplies and large coastal waves.

The weather this week, ahead of Storm Dennis, remains unsettled. North westerly winds are bringing cold air across the UK and the north of England and Scotland will continue to see some snow, mainly on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Winds remain strong with sunny, dry spells expected in places especially in the east.

You can get the most accurate and up to date forecast for your area using the Met Office forecast pages and by following them on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using the mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store. 

Met Office weather warning remains in place

YELLOW WARNING – Wind and Snow

Queensferry Crossing remains CLOSED

Headline:

Windy and feeling bitterly cold. Showers of rain, sleet, snow.

Today:

Frequent showers of rain, sleet, snow, carried on strong to gale westerly winds, making for a bitterly cold day. Snow accumulating away from lowest levels, with drifting adding to potentially hazardous travel conditions, also wet snow sporadically reaching sea level. Maximum temperature 4 °C.

Tonight:

More of the same with wintry showers and strong to gale westerly winds. However showers tending to ease a touch from the south towards dawn. Minimum temperature -1 °C.

Goodbye, Storm Ciara – but be prepared for snow and high winds

MET OFFICE: Yellow Warning for Wind and Snow

Today:

Unsettled weather turning bitter with wintry showers carried on strong to gale westerly winds, interspersed by brief interludes of weak sunshine. Best of the limited shelter across southern areas of Dumfries and Galloway. Maximum temperature 4 °C.

Tonight:

Gales continuing to bring wintry showers, with east in best of shelter. Fresh snow gathering away from the lowest levels, but even here chance of some later slushy deposits. Minimum temperature 0 °C.

Chief Meteorologist Frank Saunders said:  “In the wake of Storm Ciara, it’ll remain unsettled and very windy across the UK and it’ll turn colder with wintry showers and ice an additional hazard, as we head into the new week.

A wind and snow warning is in force for parts of Northern Ireland and Scotland on Monday as well as a further yellow wind warning in the south west of England.”

You can keep up to date with the latest forecast and warnings from the Met Office using our forecast pages and by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.

Storm Ciara update

Met Office warnings for Edinburgh:

SUNDAY – Yellow warning of WIND

Storm Ciara will bring very strong winds and potentially some disruption to travel throughout Sunday.

– Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible

– Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties

– Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen

– Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible

– Some roads and bridges may close

– Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage.

Persistent and heavy rain may lead to flooding and disruption. – Homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings – Delays or cancellations to train and bus services are possible – Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures – Possible power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses – There is a chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater, causing a danger to life.

MONDAY – Yellow weather warning of WIND

Heavy snow and strong winds will combine to lead to disruption to travel , especially over higher routes.

– Possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers

– Possible delays or cancellations to rail and air travel

– Power cuts may occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected.

– Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely.

TUESDAY – Yellow weather warning of SNOW

Heavy snow and strong winds will combine to lead to disruption to travel , especially over higher routes.

– Possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers

– Possible delays or cancellations to rail and air travel

– Power cuts may occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected.

– Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely

Be prepared warning as more rain forecast

A Met Office yellow warning remains in place until 6pm this evening. Forecasters say heavy rain possible in the Edinburgh area, perhaps leading to travel disruption and some flooding.

This severe weather follows several instances of exceptional rainfall throughout June, July and, most recently this week, resulting in localised flooding and surface water around the city. Continue reading Be prepared warning as more rain forecast

All city council schools and nurseries CLOSED today

Due to weather conditions, all City of Edinburgh Council-operated nurseries and primary, secondary and special schools will be CLOSED today. The council will continue to monitor weather updates for later in the week.

All Edinburgh College campuses are also closed and they too will update bout the situation for tomorrow later today

Fifty years of winter: who feels the deepest chill?

  • Scotland East takes the coldest and frostiest crown with an average winter temperature of 2.3 degrees and 44 days of frost – 18 days more than the least frosty region England South West / Wales South.

  • Scotland North has the most rain, seeing over 8 weeks of rainy days during winter. That’s 25 days more than the driest region East Anglia which only suffers a month’s worth of rainy days.

  • England South East/Central sees the most winter sun with a total of 180 hours of clear sunshine during December, January and February. That’s 77 hours more than the darkest region Scotland North which sees an average of 103 hours of cloudless sunshine, almost an hour less sunshine a day.

  • England and Wales see 45 hours more clear sunshine during winter than Scotland, and 24 hours more than Northern Ireland.

  • When compared to England and Wales, Scotland has 9 more days of frost, 12 more days of rain and is 1.4 degrees colder on average during winter.

There’s nothing more British than a conversation about the weather, and with winter well and truly here it’s often a moan. Whether it’s too cold, too dark or even too warm to snow, it seems we’re never quite happy with what’s going on outside. Some of us, however, have more reason to complain than others … particularly if you live in Scotland! Continue reading Fifty years of winter: who feels the deepest chill?