Heavy rain and powerful winds of up to 70mph are set to batter the UK, with forecasters issuing weather warnings across England and Wales.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind covering the entirety of the two countries, with wind speeds expected to reach up to 70mph in coastal areas and high ground.
The alerts came into force at 9pm on Wednesday evening and is set to last until 3pm on Thursday.
The RNLI urged people to exercise caution if visiting exposed cliffs, seafronts or piers due to the “severe safety risk” caused by the wind, which is expected to be accompanied by heavy showers.
Strong winds will affect much of England and Wales on Thursday morning, these strongest in eastern areas at first. Gales will lead to a risk of some disruption in places ⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 10, 2021
Most areas will have a mixture of sunshine and showers and it will feel much colder than on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/XzWRwOUoCN
The charity’s head of water safety Gareth Morrison said earlier this week: “In a normal year around 150 people lose their lives at the coast and we know that more than half of those never intended to be in the water.
“So, whether you are walking, running or cycling at the coast, please be extra responsible and avoid taking unnecessary risks or entering the water.”
A warning of strong #winds comes into effect for the whole of England and Wales from 9pm this evening ⚠️
— Met Office (@metoffice) March 10, 2021
Gusts of 50-55 mph are possible inland, with 60-70 mph gusts over the hills and on some exposed coasts, especially in the west 🌬️
Latest info 👉 https://t.co/QwDLMfRBfs ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/rzx3mY2RwC
But the unsettled weather is expected to ease over the course of the weekend, with no weather warnings in place for the weekend.
Meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “The weekend is set to have an unsettled start but nothing usual for the time of year.”
He added: “We could see some strong winds during the early hours of Saturday morning and lots of heavy showers around particularly in the west.
“But as we go head into Sunday they should become less frequent and not quite as heavy, so it is an unsettled start but as the weekend goes on the winds will start to ease a little bit.”
