A wet and windy weather system heading to Britain from the Atlantic has been named Storm Barra.
The storm is expected to hit Ireland first, and has been named Barra by Met Éireann. The UK's Met Office will adopt the same name for the storm forecast to bring strong winds, rain and snow to northern England and Scotland from Tuesday December 7.
Snow and wind warnings are in place for the North East.
"As the system moves in from west, the strongest winds and impacts are expected to affect the Republic of Ireland," the UK's Met Office says.
Read more: Met Office issues snow warning
"As the system begins to weaken, it will bring strong winds and rain, with the rain turning to snow across northern England and Scotland. In response the Met Office has issued a series of yellow National Severe Weather Warnings for wind and snow."
Frank Saunders is a Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office. He said: “Strong winds arriving across the west through Tuesday morning, will spread inland and reach eastern areas through the afternoon and early evening. Gusts of 45-50 mph are expected widely, with 60-70 mph in exposed coastal locations. The strongest winds will ease across inland areas into the overnight period.”
Deputy Chief Meteorologist, Brent Walker said: “A band of rain will turn to snow across northern England and Scotland through Tuesday. Two to five cm of snow is expected to accumulate quite widely across the warning area, but locally this could reach ten cm, particularly in parts of the Southern Uplands and Highlands.”
The North East is braced for snow, heavy rain and strong gusts on Tuesday. The Met Office's two yellow warnings in place in the region say to expect transport delays and prepare for the possibility of more power cuts, with thousands of homes still without electricity in the wake of Storm Arwen.
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