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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Matthew Dresch

Storm Barra: 65mph winds to batter UK with heavy snow also forecast

A new Met Office weather warning has predicted gusts of up to 65mph on Wednesday as Storm Barra lashes the UK.

It comes after forecasters said four inches of snow could potentially fall in some parts of Britain on Tuesday morning.

Strong winds are set to batter the UK when Storm Barra makes landfall on Tuesday, with gusts expected to reach as high as 70mph.

In addition to three weather warnings in force on Tuesday, a new alert has now been issued for south-west England and south Wales on Wednesday.

The wind warning, which will last from midnight until 6pm, says: "Strong westerly winds slowly moderating through Wednesday.

"Wind gusts of 45-50 mph expected widely across the region, with a potential of 55-65 mph for exposed coastal locations. In addition to strong winds, there is a potential for large waves along windward coasts."

Gusts could reach even higher speeds on Wednesday (Met Office)

The alert warns of possible power cuts and delays for drivers and bus, rail, air and ferry passengers.

It comes after Storm Arwen knocked out power in homes across north-east England, with thousands of people still waiting for their electricity to return.

Northern Powergrid said it is 'hopeful' it can restore power to the homes before Storm Barra brings further severe weather.

The Energy Networks Association (ENA) said that 3,190 homes were still waiting to be reconnected as of 2pm on Sunday - down from 4,025 homes on Sunday morning, ChronicleLive reports.

The majority of the affected homes are in the North East of England, the ENA said.

Up to four inches of snow could hit the UK on Tuesday (PA)

As of 11pm last night, 1,600 homes in the region still had no electricity.

Northern Powergrid expected to restore power to more homes on Sunday but says "some jobs that we had hoped to complete by Sunday night will likely be completed on Monday December 6".

A spokesman added: "Although more adverse weather conditions are predicted, we are now hopeful that the work we have in front of us will be completed on Tuesday December 7, provided that any additional damage that we find is not extensive."

The weather is turning wet and windy this week, with rainfall sweeping across Wales and Scotland on Monday morning.

"Some snow is likely over higher parts of Scotland, perhaps briefly in the Pennines," BBC forecaster Darren Bett says.

Flooding warnings have been issued for the Cumbrian coastline on Monday afternoon.

Large waves are expected to crash into the shore near Morecambe, Lancashire, as the Environment Agency warned of potentially dangerous weather.

Storm Barra will bring windy weather to Britain this week (Tom Bowles / Story Picture Agency)

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Temperatures are expected to drop to freezing in central Scotland overnight, according to the Met Office.

A snow warning is also in force in the UK from 11am until midnight on Tuesday.

Southern Uplands and Highlands will be worst affected by the fresh snowfall at this stage.

Up to 10cm of snow is expected to fall across parts of the UK on Tuesday morning.

But North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, Cumbria, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Derbyshire and Durham are all subject to the weather warning, among a host of other places.

Eastern places, like Durham and Northumberland, will see most snowfall later in the afternoon and evening, it is believed.

A wind warning is also in place across all of Northern Ireland, Wales, England and parts of Scotland on Tuesday.

The alert is in force from 9am until midnight, with warnings of gusts of up to 70mph in coastal areas.

The winds will have weakened by Wednesday, although gusts of around 50mph are still possible in coastal areas, according to the Met Office.

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