Hurricane force winds could slap UK as storm forms over Atlantic

Over the last few weeks, temperatures in the UK have been unusually low. Indeed, more and more postcodes have seen long periods of zero or sub zero degrees, triggering Cold Weather Payments for thousands of people across the country. The weather is set to get milder and wetter over the weekend, but recent weather maps have revealed that a different kind of extreme weather is on the way.

Ventusky (a weather application) forecasts indicate that the cold snap will be ushered out with the arrival of a violent storm from the Atlantic. Here’s what we know about the storm, and about warnings issued by the Met Office.

The storm will batter Scotland

This bad weather is set to slap Scotland for the next 48 hours, bringing with it a whole lot of heavy rain from today, Thursday 7 December. The bad weather will cover most of the country, and winds will reportedly reach up to 86mph in some areas.

As the Daily Record pointed out:

Up to 100mm of rain could fall on higher ground in eastern Scotland, with melting snow resulting in the risk of flooding. There are five flood alerts in place across Scotland, according to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA).

Met Office weather warnings

All four of the UK’s home nations have been hit by Met Office weather warnings. Eight warnings have been issued in total, meaning disruption is ‘likely’ in much of the country. There are concerns of flooding as the rain hits ground that has already been battered by precipitation.

Chief Forecaster, Neil Armstrong, stated:

The rain will be falling on already very wet ground and where there is still lying snow in the northwest of England and parts of Scotland, snow melt will exacerbate the risk of flooding. It is important to check for flood warnings in your area issued by your local environment agency.

For now, there are no further warnings in place for Friday or the weekend. You can keep checking updates on the Met Office’s website.

Read more:

⋙ London's sinking: Terrifying study suggests which city could become the capital if this disaster happened

⋙ Ever wondered how planes are protected from thunderstorms? This is all you need to know

⋙ If you often sneeze during thunderstorms, you could suffer from this condition

Sources used:

Daily Record: Hurricane-force winds could hit Scotland with 48-hour Atlantic storm and rain alerts

Met Office