The Met Office has issued a “danger to life” red warning for 90mph winds – as Storm Darragh moves towards the UK.
The fourth named storm of the season is expected to bring winds of up to 80km/h and heavy rain on Friday afternoon and into the weekend, while 130 flood warnings have been issued.
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A motorist was stuck in 4ft floodwaters in Essex this morningCredit: Stephen Huntley/HVC
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Storm Darragh whips up waves on the Cornwall coast
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The Met Office has issued a red warningCredit: Met Office
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Storm Darragh to hit west coastCredit: MET Office
A red wind warning will be in place for the Wales coast from 3am to 11am.
Send your pictures and videos of the storm to Harry Goodwin: [email protected]
Locals face “danger to life” from flying debris and falling trees, forecasters say.
Large waves and material from the beach are likely to fall on coastal roads, banks and houses.
Power outages are feared to affect other services in the warning zone, such as mobile phone coverage.
The storm could damage buildings and homes, with roofs blown off and power lines down.
Roads, bridges and rail lines will be closed, with delays and cancellations of buses, trains, ferry services and flights.
The Met Office has also issued a yellow warning for “potentially damaging” winds along the west coast of the UK from South Ayrshire in Scotland to Cornwall, as well as Northern Ireland, from 3am to 9pm on Saturday.
Belton House in Lincolnshire has canceled its famous Christmas light trail due to high winds.
Brighton’s Winter Faire was also forced to close this weekend due to the storm.
Snow could also affect the hilly areas of northern England on Saturday.
A period of snow is also expected to affect higher areas of Scotland during Friday night and into Saturday morning.
About 2 to 5 cm of snow will fall above 200 or 300 m and 10 to 20 cm above 400 m, bringing difficult travel conditions and some disruption on higher routes.
A yellow warning for rain will be in place for Northern Ireland and Wales, which were hit hard by flooding during Storm Bert, from 3pm on Friday until 12pm on Saturday.
Those areas could see up to 60mm of rain during the warning period, which could lead to flooding and disruption, forecasters said.
Rhondda Cynon Taf, where between 200 and 300 properties were flooded during Storm Bert last month, is set to be hit again by heavy rain.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has issued more than 30 flood warnings.
The Environment Agency (EA) has more than 20 red flood warnings in England, meaning flooding is expected and residents and business owners should “act now”.
Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said the Met Office was “somewhat concerned” about the risk of flooding in parts of Wales and Northern Ireland where there was “heightened vulnerability” due to recent heavy rainfall.
A Met Office map shows Storm Darragh hitting the UK today ahead of an amber warning
Mr Stroud added: “The wind in particular will be quite disruptive and potentially quite damaging.
“We are quite concerned about the strength of the winds affecting the coasts of the Irish Sea and this is likely to have an impact on Irish ferry services.
“Trees could fall onto roads and people need to be aware of that and allow extra travel time, especially in rural areas.”
Strong gusts of wind are forecast to lash the country, with the Met Office saying the wind could cause travel disruption with potentially difficult driving conditions.
UK weather forecast for 5 days
Today:
A pleasant but cool start, with occasional showers affecting parts of N and W Scotland during the morning.
Cloudy from the west with rain, occasionally heavy, which will reach western areas during the afternoon. The wind will strengthen, with the development of a gale.
Tonight:
Outbreaks of rain, heavy at times, will move eastwards overnight as winds continue to strengthen with gales, later developing strong gales as Storm Darragh arrives. Treasure
Saturday:
Wet and very windy on Saturday with a chance of severe storms in places, especially in the west with Storm Darragh.
Rain falls as snow in parts of northern Scotland.
Outlook from Sunday to Tuesday:
On Sunday and Monday, it will be colder with showers and stormy winds that are gradually weakening.
Drier and brighter later on Monday and into Tuesday as high pressure builds with some fog and mist.
A yellow wind warning for the whole of the UK, except for central and northern Scotland, is also in place from 3pm on Friday until 6am on Sunday.
The Met Office warned that flying debris could cause injury or danger to life.
National Highways, which manages Britain’s motorways and busiest A-roads, has issued a severe weather warning for Saturday.
Motorists in the southwest and northwest were warned to prepare for gale-force winds.
It said routes likely to be hit by the strongest winds included the M5 in north Somerset, the A30 in Cornwall and the M6 in Cheshire.
Strong winds are already affecting travel in parts of the country, with the M48 Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire closed on Thursday night due to the stormy weather.
EA said it was closely monitoring the storm’s progress ahead of the weekend.
Katharine Smith, head of flood services at the EA, said: “EA teams are on the ground and will support local authorities in their response to surface water flooding.
“We are appealing to people not to drive through flood water – it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of running water is enough to float your car.”
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A woman struggles to hold on to her umbrella in Manchester as parts of the UK are hit by heavy rain and strong windsCredit: LNP
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