UK weather could spark Christmas travel chaos as Storm Barbara strikes with 70mph gales, heavy rain and snow

BRITAIN is bracing itself for 70mph gales as Storm Barbara is predicted to hit just before Christmas.

Forecasters are predicting generally unsettled weather this week which is likely to affect those trying to travel home for the Christmas weekend.

The Met Office believe the strong gales could trigger Storm Barbara with the poor weather wreaking havoc on Christmas Eve.

MeteoGroup’s Julian Mayes, said a named storm seems "quite likely" with wind gusts of 50-70mph expected on Friday and Christmas Eve.

Met Office forecaster Mark Wilson said it was "too early" though to confirm whether the storm would be named around the festive period.

Temperatures are expected to swing from mild to bitterly cold in the upcoming days and heavy rain is forecast across the whole country.

Met Office forecaster Oli Claydon said: "It is going to turn more unsettled across the whole of the country through the week.

"A major change is likely to take place on Tuesday into Wednesday with a band of heavy rain and strengthening winds across the far north of the UK and the risk of severe gales, we could see gusts of 70mph.

"Showers could turn wintry over high ground in Scotland towards the middle of the week.

"There is a chance of thunder on Wednesday in the north and by Thursday wind and rain will spread further south, a Polar Maritime air mass will make it feel colder.

"Another system moves in on Friday bringing more wet and windy conditions which will last into the weekend with showery conditions for most of the UK."

He also said that the Met Office cannot rule out the chance of snow on Christmas Day.

Passengers travelling from the main airports in England escaped delays and cancellations this morning after a blanket of fog over southern and central parts of the country began to lift.

There were fears that flights might be badly hit after the Met Office issued a severe weather warning for fog for a large swathe of land stretching from the South Coast to the Vale of York and East Anglia.

But forecasters said the fog had eased overnight to a lighter mist in some areas and would continue to break up throughout the day.

Both Heathrow and Gatwick Airports warned passengers on their websites of delays and cancellations overnight, but by Monday morning Gatwick said "reasonable" visibility meant there was no impact on flights, while Heathrow was a little misty with just a few knock-on effects from delays at the weekend.

A Heathrow spokesman said: "Our advice to passengers is to check with airlines before coming to the airport. We will be reviewing the fog warning in the next few hours."

Met Office forecaster Chris Page said visibility at both airports was above 1,000m (3,281ft) - below which is regarded as foggy - and that it was overcast and cloudy in both areas.

But he warned that drivers on the M4 could experience dense fog patches, as visibility at weather stations near the motorway was down to between 200m and 300m (220-330 yards).