Most powerful storm in almost a decade is about to hit UK
The UK is set to be hit by the most powerful storm in seven years, with winds up to 80-90mph as the Met Office issues a “danger to life” warning this weekend.
Storm Ciara is the third named storm of the season!
There will be “impacts across the whole of the UK” between 6pm on Saturday and midnight on Sunday.
Gusts of up to 50-60mph are expected across the entire UK this weekend – rising to 80-90mph along coastal areas.
Monday and Tuesday, up to four inches of snow is expected in parts of northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, with blizzard conditions forecast for some areas.
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for southeast England on Sunday, saying “widespread gales” could cause damage to homes and businesses, travel disruption and power cuts, and pose a “danger to life”.
Storm Ciara will be the most intense storm since 2013, and will almost certainly cause some travel disruption and damage to trees and properties.
Some coastal flooding is possible too, as the strong winds combine with a spring tide.
Over the weekend, it will turn colder, with heavy, squally and increasingly wintry showers moving into the north and west.
There’ll be some snow to quite low levels in the north, while between two and four inches (5-10cm) are likely over northwestern hills, mainly over about 300m.
On Saturday, strong winds are expected for Northern Ireland, Scotland and the north of England, which could cause some travel delays on roads, railways and affect ferry services.
Heavy rain is forecast for the whole of the UK on Sunday, with flooding likely, and spray on roads could make journeys longer.
The north will bear the brunt of the bad weather, with a warning that strong winds could cause danger to life from flying debris, such as tiles blown from roofs.
In October 2013, the St Jude storm battered southern areas, uprooting trees, shutting down bridges and rail services and grounding flights. Several people were killed by falling trees in separate incidents.