THERE SHE BLOWS
Met Office issues ‘danger to life’ warning as ‘explosive’ low from Atlantic to unleash torrential rain & 80mph winds
Scroll down to see full list of affected areas
BRITS are braced for torrential rain and 80mph winds after the Met Office issued a "danger to life" warning.
The forecaster said a "windy period" is expected across the whole of the UK on Sunday and into Monday.
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Scotland and Northern Ireland, as well as parts of North Wales and Cumbria, are expected to see the worst conditions and are under a yellow warning beginning at 3am on Sunday.
The Met Office warned that there is a "small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur" from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.
Gusts of 50 to 70mph are expected in the morning, but later in the day could hit 80mph in exposed areas such as western Scotland.
The warning ends at midday on Monday.
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It states: "A windy period is expected across the whole of the UK on Sunday and into Monday, but across parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northwest England and North West Wales there is an increased chance of some disruption.
"Initially a period of strong south to southeasterly winds will likely develop through Sunday morning, with gusts of 50 to 60 mph possible in some inland areas, especially Northern Ireland and western Scotland, and perhaps up to 60 to 70 mph along exposed coasts and hills.
"Winds will then likely turn southwesterly, with a period of especially strong winds possible during Sunday afternoon and evening in western Scotland where gusts could potentially reach 70 to 80 mph in exposed areas, and more generally 55 to 65 mph in other parts of the warning area.
"These strong winds in conjunction with high spring tides may cause some disruption."
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Sunday's warning activates from 3am, and will run for more than an entire day until 12pm on Monday.
The Met Office added: "After a warm week with some heavy rain and warnings all eyes out in the Atlantic for developments with the jet stream and an ‘explosive’ low."
The "windy period" will also send blasts of cold air over the country on Friday, with people to see some calm on Saturday before the wind picks up again next week.
A smaller-scale wind warning on Friday also affects the Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Skye and parts of the Highlands - lasting from 7am to 3pm.
Gusts of 45 to 60mph are possible.
Met Office warns of MORE rain and gales after towns left underwater
It comes as forecasters warned that power cuts and flooding could wreak havoc with heavy rain predicted for swathes of Britain.
The forecaster also said that spells of heavy rain may lead to some travel disruption and flooding in places.
There is a chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses, forecasters say.
And there is a "small chance" that some communities will be temporarily cut off by flooded roads
Homes and businesses may also be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
Where flooding occurs, this could mean delays or cancellations to train and bus services.
The downpour may also lead to difficult driving conditions and road closures.
But mild weather is forecast for parts of the country today, with highs of 20C or 21C in the south - about 5C warmer than the average for this time of year - while 13-18C is forecast for most.
Meanwhile swathes of North West England, Wales, South West England and the West Midlands are covered by the yellow weather warning.
It stretches from Manchester in the north down through Cardiff, and covers Plymouth in the south.
Areas of heavy rain are expected to develop and push north across the warning area, the Met Office warns.
Many places will see around 10-20 mm of rain, but there is a chance some locations may see considerably more than this over a six-hour period, most likely parts of southwest England and south Wales.
A few places may see 50-80 mm of rain fall in 6 hours.
Isolated thunderstorms are also possible in the south of the warning area, with lightning an additional hazard.
People in affected areas should check if their property could be at risk of flooding.
If so, they should consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.
Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: "Outbreaks of rain have been pushing north across the night, the weather warning is in place until midday.
"The rain is quite extensive across parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the west of England, and when it's not raining it's cloudy, misty and murky.
"It will stay pretty similar in terms of the areas that will see the outbreaks of rain, it could be heavy at times.
Regions affected by the yellow weather warning
North West England
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Greater Manchester
- Halton
- Lancashire
- Merseyside
- Warrington
South West England
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bristol
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Gloucestershire
- North Somerset
- Plymouth
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- Torbay
Wales
- Blaenau Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Gwynedd
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath Port Talbot
- Newport
- Powys
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Wrexham
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- West Midlands Conurbation
- Worcestershire
"The driest will likely be across the east and south-east of England.
"It will start to become drier across the south-western parts overnight.
"By the end of the night it will be more restricted to parts of Scotland and north-east England.
"Tomorrow there will be rain first thing across Scotland and north-east England. It will quickly clear and be a much brighter day for everyone.
"There will be a few showers but lots of places will stay dry and temperatures will be between 16-19C.";
The forecaster added that on Friday there will be a west and east split developing with cloud and rain in western parts of the UK while central and eastern areas will be dry with sunny spells. Temperatures will be between 13-16C.
The warning comes after heavy rainfall caused widespread flooding across the UK in September and early October.
Some counties of England saw their wettest September on record, receiving three times the normal rainfall, and Oxfordshire and Bedfordshire had their wettest months ever - although the rain came after a drier than normal summer for much of the UK.
Check road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.
People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance.
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Forecaster advise gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items.
Also be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly, the Met Office said.
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