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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
William Walker

UK weather forecast: Met Office issues yellow warnings for ice as Storm Barra hits

An ice blast will blanket a huge swathe of Scotland, the north of England and Wales as experts issue another severe weather warning tonight.

The country is already set to be lashed by a weather 'bomb' in the coming days with heavy snow and 70mph winds.

Scotland and the North of England will be the worst hit regions with multiple weather warnings already in place as Storm Barra arrives.

The Met Office issued a new yellow weather warning for ice on Monday night, which is in force from 9pm until 9am on Tuesday.

A huge area of Scotland, the north west of England and parts of north Wales are all covered by the warning zone.

Strong winds are set to lash the nation (Amer Ghazzal/REX/Shutterstock)

Meteorologists said of the new threat: "Ice is likely to develop in places, leading to potentially hazardous conditions.

"Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths making accidents and injuries more likely."

Forecasters at the Met Office added: "Showers this evening, wintry over high ground, will gradually die out overnight.

"Wet surfaces are expected to fall below freezing quite quickly under clear skies. Ice is quite likely where surfaces remain untreated, or where showers wash off grit."

A map of all the various weather warnings in the coming days (Met Office)
The area of the new warning in place from 9pm on Monday (Met Office)

It comes as a deep area of low-pressure prepares to move in from the Atlantic on Tuesday, named Storm Barra, bringing with it seriously strong winds.

As the system moves in from West, the strongest winds and impacts are expected to affect the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Wind speeds will reach 70mph in some coastal areas, whipping up the sea into great waves.

England, Scotland and Wales won't escape the storm's ire completely.

Heavy rain will drive down in Wales and the southern half of England, which cold weather will turn to snow and sleet in the North and Scotland.

The Met Office has issued a series of yellow weather warnings for wind and snow for most of the UK.

The inclement weather could be particularly bad news for those who are still without power following Storm Arwen.

More than 3,000 homes - most in the North East - were still powerless on Sunday evening, nine days after the storm hit.

Forecasters have warned of 'hazardous conditions' (Jordan Crosby)

The Met Office says there is a chance of more power outages and a "slight chance" rural communities could be cut off.

Frank Saunders, chief meteorologist at the weather forecaster, 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.”

Elsewhere, in the Republic of Ireland, a rare red alert has been issued, with health officials warning people to expect disruption to services – including Covid testing and vaccination centres.

The Department of Education recommended all schools in areas covered by red and orange weather warnings should not open on Tuesday.

According the Irish Meteorological Service, Met Éireann, the red weather warning is a rare caution - used only under circumstances of “extremely dangerous/destructive” weather.

Irish PM Micheal Martin said Storm Barra would be “very, very serious” and advised people to “avoid the coast at all costs”.

Meanwhile, power firms promised to get 1,600 homes still without electricity reconnected but experts warned electricity lines could again be felled by 'Storm Barra'.

A low-pressure system qualifies as a weather ‘bomb’ if its centre deepens by 24 millibars in 24 hours.

It is expected the one behind the latest extreme conditions will deepen even further than that before it lands on our shores.

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