Brits face Christmas travel chaos as strong winds set to lash UK

20 December 2024, 09:45

Brits are set to be hit with strong winds threatening to cause travel chaos in the run-up to Christmas, the Met Office has warned.

A yellow weather warning has been issued for parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Saturday, with gusts of up to 80mph expected in some of the most exposed areas.

Winds of around 50-70mph are expected more widely across the warning areas.

This could spark significant disruption for road, rail, ferry and air transport while many Britons travel over the festive period.  Short-term power cuts are also a possibility.

The Met Office said: "Strong westerly winds are expected to develop through the course of Saturday, with gusts of 50-60 mph developing quite widely across this region.

"This has the potential to cause delays to public transport and some disruption to the road network, which may have a greater than usual impact given the busier pre-Christmas weekend travel. Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard."

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There is also "a small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties", The Met Office said.

A wider yellow warning has been issued for large parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the western half of England on Sunday.

Gusts with speeds of up to 50-70mph threaten to cause further travel disruption.Rainfall is expected throughout the weekend. Some showers will be wintry with a mix of sleet, hail, and a chance of snow in some areas.

It comes after Storm Darragh battered the UK last week, with winds of up to 95mph winds, killing two.

Red "danger to life" warning covered areas of the south west of England and Wales, with train lines and other services warning of severe delays.

The Met Office said that red warnings have only been announced 20 times in the UK since 2011 when first started recording them.

Elsewhere, images show widespread destruction, with Llandudno pier in North Wales facing the full brunt of Darragh as one of the huts along the pier was blown sideways.T

rees fell with winds of up to 93mph battering North Wales. Hundreds of flights were cancelled with others diverted from Heathrow to Germany.