Storm Bert: Inside brutal tempest as Met Office issues 84-HOUR weather warnings for UK

Multiple consecutive upwind warnings are successful place, spanning a adjacent 84-hour timeframe from Thursday done until precocious connected Sunday nighttime arsenic Met Office is acrophobic for snow, ice, rainfall and wind

More than 100mm of rain is expected to lash crossed the UK arsenic Storm Bert is acceptable origin terrible disruption this weekend.

The downpours and the accelerated melting of lying snowfall volition contiguous hazards connected roads and could pb to flooding successful places, the Met Office says. It has multiple upwind warnings successful place, including a uncommon amber alert, immoderate of which started connected Thursday afternoon. These tally consecutively for astir 84 hours until the last one, for rainfall crossed the Southwest of England, ceases precocious connected Sunday night.

Those taxable to the amber informing connected Saturday should not drive, forecasters say. Rural communities successful these areas, including Central, Tayside & Fife and Grampian, are apt to get chopped disconnected owed to the dense snowfall forecast connected Saturday betwixt 7am and 5pm.

Dan Holley, Met Office's lawman main meteorologist, said: "Storm Bert marks a displacement to overmuch milder aerial and wintry hazards volition gradually diminish done the weekend, but dense snowfall is expected crossed parts of bluish England and Scotland for a clip connected Saturday, particularly implicit higher ground, and warnings are successful place."

Mr Holley added: "Heavy rainfall done Saturday and Sunday, particularly successful confederate and occidental parts of the UK, volition besides bring impacts for immoderate with a fig of warnings successful place. We expect 50-75 mm of rainfall rather wide wrong the informing areas, but successful excess of 100 mm is imaginable implicit precocious crushed successful parts of Wales and southwest England.”

"In addition, accelerated melting of lying snowfall implicit the play and periods of beardown winds are apt to exacerbate impacts and bring the imaginable for question disruption, arsenic good arsenic flooding for some."

The superior interest passim Friday is for snowfall and ice, earlier Storm Bert adjacent makes its mark. The Met Office website reads: "Wintry showers and icy patches are expected, possibly starring to immoderate question disruption." Morning unreserved hr crossed the Midlands, bluish England and astir of Scotland volition beryllium hazardous. Up to 20cm of snowfall could autumn connected Friday unsocial successful parts of Grampian and the Scottish Highlands.

Eight upwind warnings are successful spot connected Saturday, including the amber alert for Central, Tayside & Fife, Grampian, Highlands & Eilean Siar and Strathclyde. In these areas, motorists should not thrust and the RAC adjacent warns different drivers to marque considered decisions earlier getting into their vehicles successful different regions of the UK, including Northeast of England wherever southerly gusts could scope 70mph.

The upwind informing covers a immense agelong of the UK from Humberside to the Scottish Highlands. The Met Office website reads: "Give yourself the champion accidental of avoiding delays by checking roadworthy conditions if driving, oregon autobus and bid timetables, amending your question plans if necessary.

"People header amended with powerfulness cuts erstwhile they person prepared for them successful advance. It’s casual to do; see gathering torches and batteries, a mobile telephone powerfulness battalion and different indispensable items. If you are connected the coast, enactment harmless during stormy weather by being alert of ample waves. Even from the enactment ample breaking waves tin expanse you disconnected your feet and retired to sea."

Rain is the main interest for confederate parts of the UK connected Saturday and Sunday. More than 100mm of rainfall could autumn crossed some days connected higher crushed successful Wales and Dartmoor, which has already seen just levels of snowfall this week. The Met Office tract reads: "Accumulations of 50-75 mm are expected to autumn reasonably wide during this time. There is simply a accidental that immoderate places implicit Dartmoor could spot 100-150 mm. Strong southerly winds volition travel the dense rainfall and whitethorn locally exacerbate impacts."

RAC Breakdown spokesperson Alice Simpson said: "The archetypal sensation of wintertime means drivers are abruptly contending with the immoderate of the worst roadworthy conditions we’ve seen each year. With freezing temperatures already causing disruption successful the eastbound and northbound of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and snowfall showers present affecting regions further south, we counsel motorists to program good arsenic crystal forms connected untreated surfaces.

“Drivers should guarantee their tyres person plentifulness of tread and are inflated to the close unit to springiness them the champion imaginable grip connected the road. It’s champion to instrumentality to large roads, alternatively than agrarian areas wherever surfaces whitethorn not beryllium gritted, trim speeds and permission plentifulness of abstraction down the conveyance successful beforehand to guarantee you person much clip to stop. Everyone should question prepared successful lawsuit they find themselves breached down astatine the broadside of the road: a blanket, lukewarm waterproof overgarment and gloves, sturdy footwear and a charging cablegram and mobile powerfulness slope are each essentials.”