BRITS are bracing for Storm Isha to batter the entire country with 85mph winds in a “rare” cycle after a -10C plunge.
Heavy rain and gales are set to affect much of the UK, with flooding, travel chaos and even power cuts expected.
LNPHeavy rain of the type seen here in central London on January 2 is forecast as Storm Isha brings 85mph gusts to the UK[/caption]
Bav MediaUp to four inches of rainfall is expected to result in flooding, as seen here in Sutton Gault, Cambs, last Sunday[/caption]
Amber weather warnings carrying a ‘danger to life’ risk blanket much of the country into tomorrow
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain covering the entirety of the UK, while more severe amber warnings, this time for wind, blanket much of the North and West.
Everywhere north of Manchester, including all of Scotland, as well as much of Wales and the north coast of Devon and Cornwall are forecast to see gusts reaching up to 85mph today.
These warnings remain in place well into tomorrow, with a further amber warning for wind activating at midnight in the area between Brighton and Canterbury along much of the South Coast.
The alerts state that there is a “good chance” of power cuts and potentially a loss of mobile phone signal, while “injuries and danger to life” are likely due to large waves.
The transport network is set to be thrown into chaos, with “longer journey times and cancellations likely” across road, rail, air and ferry services.
East Midlands Railway has already said that it expects “significant disruption” to services with almost four inches of rain set to fall.
Motorists are advised not to use the roads where possible, especially as many may be closed.
Motorcyclists should be particularly cautious about travelling in high winds.
Temperatures have seen a dramatic change in the past 24 hours, with a low of -10.4C recorded in Baltasound, Scotland, before the mercury rocketed to a high of 10.6C in Magilligan, Northern Ireland, overnight.
And the warmer conditions are here to stay, with parts of Wales and the South West predicted to see highs of 12C today.
Sadly, though, this isn’t a pocket of unseasonal sunshine, with the heat caused by the mild, humid air battering into the cold front that sat over the nation last week, leading to stormy downpours.
The Environment Agency has 59 flood alerts, meaning flooding is possible, and 8 flood warnings, meaning it is expected, active for today.
The latter cover areas including the upper Avon Valley in Hampshire and the area around the River Nene in Cambridgeshire.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency has 14 alerts and 10 warnings active, while Natural Resources Wales has one warning covering the Snowdonia National Park.
Going into next week, Monday is expected to see a “mixture of sunny spells and showers”, before conditions turn “widely wet” again on Tuesday.
Wednesday is predicted to be a drier day, but the rain is then forecast to return on Thursday and continue to reappear in the days ahead.
Yellow warnings for wind persist into Wednesday, covering northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Met Office Forecaster Ellie Glaisyer said: “The main thing about this storm is it is very widespread across the whole of the UK.
“Quite often we see storms affecting the North West or the southern half of the UK, whereas this one, later on Sunday and into Monday, the whole of the UK is covered by a warning, which is relatively rare.
“In that nature, it’s a very widespread storm and it’s going to be affecting everybody. Heavy rain will affect everybody, and those strong winds will affect everybody.
“That’s the main difference to previous storms we have seen.”
RexMotorists like these brave souls in Eton, Berkshire, on January 7 are advised not to use roads where possible[/caption]
AlamyA frosty start to this morning, as experienced in Godalming, Surrey, brought lows of -10C before giving way to a much milder 10C[/caption]
Yellow warnings for wind persist into the middle of the week Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
