Strong winds and torrential rain to batter Britain as Met Office issues fresh warnings amid cold snap

19 January 2024, 07:34 | Updated: 19 January 2024, 07:40

Strong winds and torrential rain are set to batter Britain over the weekend as the Met Office issues fresh warnings amid freezing temperatures.

The Met Office issued fresh warnings for wind and rain across most of the UK on Sunday and heading into next week.

It comes after it also extended warnings for snow and ice on Friday morning.

The heaviest rain is expected on Sunday - with 30mm to 50mm falling widely and the potential for peaks of 80mm to 100mm over hills, the Met Office said.

The wintry showers are likely to bring disruption to travel, with bus and train services either delayed or cancelled.

Flooding is also expected across parts of Scotland, northern England and Wales on Sunday and early Monday.

As of Friday morning, the Environment Agency issued 13 flood warnings and 59 flood alerts.

Meanwhile, winds of up to 70mph are expected to hit coastal areas, with up to 60mph inland.

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Overnight temperatures in Scotland again fell below freezing, with data indicating that the mercury dipped to -10C in Eskdalemuir, Dumfries and Galloway on Thursday evening.

However, the mercury began to climb from then on, with the same village sitting at -1C at 5am on Friday, as per preliminary Met Office data.

Deputy chief meteorologist David Hayter said: "Conditions will stay cold on Friday but a change in weather type is on the way, bringing milder air for the UK during the course of the weekend.

"This change will initially be relatively benign in terms of weather impacts, with a dry Friday and start to Saturday for many in the south of the UK.

"The Atlantic influence will then introduce some wet and windy weather, with a deep area of low pressure approaching from the west on Sunday.

"While detail is still being worked out, we expect windy weather for many and some heavy rain in the west and so we've issued warnings for Sunday for wind and rain.

"Watch out for updates to these warnings on Friday and Saturday as the forecast develops."