Storm Jorge is set to batter the UK with heavy rain, strong winds and snow this weekend, making driving conditions treacherous.
Multiple severe weather warnings are in place from now until Tuesday covering the whole of the UK - with as many as nine separate Met Office yellow warnings in place for Saturday alone.
Storm Jorge will track across the north-west of the UK over the weekend and we can expect some terrible downpours overnight tonight bringing the possibility of flooding and a danger to life from fast flowing or deep floodwater.
Not to mention the carnage which will ensue on public transport.
Chief meteorologist at the Met Office, Frank Saunders, said: “For the rest of today (Friday) - and ahead of Storm Jorge’s arrival - there are warnings for rain and snow.
"The heaviest snowfall – with accumulations of 5-8 cm on higher routes – is likely to occur across central Scotland, where snow may fall to lower levels for a time.
“From Saturday Storm Jorge will bring strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK, with potentially heavy snowfall being a hazard for parts of Scotland.
"Areas above 400 metres could see accumulations of 20-30 cm of snow, with lower areas - roughly above 250 metres - seeing accumulations of up to 10 cm.
"On Saturday and Sunday, the majority of the UK is covered by Yellow weather warnings with some areas being covered by more than one warning, indicating multiple weather hazards."
The chief forecaster at the West Country-based Met Office warned that Wales could be drowned in as much as 100mm of rainfall and the UK could see gusts of up to 70mph.
He added: “The heavy rain warnings for parts of Wales, South West England and North West England are indicating that some isolated areas of Wales could see as much as 100 mm of rainfall.
"Storm Jorge is not expected to bring wind gusts as strong as Storms Ciara or Dennis, but it will still bring gusts of 60 to 70 mph in some exposed locations during the warning period, which ends at midday on Sunday.
"But it's worth saying that parts of the south and east of the UK, once the rain clears early on Saturday, should often be bright, windy and cold over the weekend.”
The strong winds over the weekend means people living in the warning areas should pay close attention to the advice of local emergency services, said the Met Office.
Meanwhile snow will follow Storm Jorge.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, Dan Harris, said: “As Storm Jorge begins to weaken and slowly clear over the weekend we'll see a trend back to slightly colder conditions, with some potentially disruptive snow over hills and mountains of Scotland and less severe wintry conditions over other hills in the north of the UK.
"A mixture of rain and hail showers looks likely elsewhere. Away from much of Scotland it'll remain blustery on Sunday, although not quite as windy as Saturday.
“The weather looks likely to remain rather cold and showery into next week and there's a chance of further wet and windy weather around the middle of the week, although confidence in details is very low at this stage.”
Overnight tonight
Northern Ireland
There is a severe weather warnings for rain covering a large swathe of Northern Ireland including until 5am tomorrow including -
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
It warns heavy rain may lead to transport disruption and local flooding.
What to expect
- Homes and businesses flooded
- Bus and train services affected with journey times taking longer
- Spray and flooding on roads will make journey times longer
North West England, and Yorkshire and Humber
There is a severe weather warning for rain until 9am tomorrow covering the area including -
It warns heavy rain may lead to some flooding and disruption to transport.
What to expect
- Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer
- Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer
- Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely
Wales
There is a severe weather warning for rain until 6am tomorrow covering the area including -
- Blaenau Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Gwynedd
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath Port Talbot
- Newport
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Wrexham
It warns heavy rain over south Wales on Friday and overnight into Saturday may lead to further disruption for recently flood hit communities.
What to expect
- Homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
- Fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life
- Delays or cancellations to train and bus services are possible
- Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
- Some communities may be cut off by flooded roads
- Possible power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses
South West England
There is a severe weather warning for heavy rain covering almost the entire South West until 6am tomorrow. It covers -
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth
- Bristol
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- North Somerset
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- Torbay
It warns heavy rain causing some flooding and transport disruption.
What to expect
- Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer
- Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer
Saturday
Scotland
There is a severe weather warning for snow from 3pm Saturday until 12pm Monday.
It will affect -
Central, Tayside & Fife
- Angus
- Clackmannanshire
- Fife
- Perth and Kinross
- Stirling
Grampian
- Aberdeenshire
- Moray
Highlands & Eilean Siar
- Highland
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- East Lothian
- Edinburgh
- Midlothian Council
- Scottish Borders
- West Lothian
Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- East Ayrshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
- West Dunbartonshire
It warns persistent snow is likely over higher parts of Scotland leading to travel disruption.
What to expect
- Transport may be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services should higher routes become impassable.
- There is a small chance that vehicles and passengers could become stranded on the higher trunk routes north of the Central Belt of Scotland.
Northern Ireland
There is a severe weather warning for ice from 5am tomorrow until 9.30am tomorrow. It covers -
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
It warns that, following clearance of heavy rain, a sudden drop in temperatures will make icy conditions quite likely
What to expect
- Probably some icy patches on some untreated roads, pavements and cycle paths, meaning an increased likelihood of accidents, and also injuries from falls.
Wind warning for most of England on Saturday
Meanwhile, a severe weather warning for strong winds begins at noon tomorrow and lasts until noon Sunday.
It covers -
East Midlands
- Derby
- Derbyshire
- Leicester
- Leicestershire
- Lincolnshire
- Northamptonshire
- Nottingham
- Nottinghamshire
- Rutland
East of England
- Peterborough
London & South East England
- Brighton and Hove
- Buckinghamshire
- East Sussex
- Hampshire
- Isle of Wight
- Kent
- Oxfordshire
- Portsmouth
- Southampton
- West Sussex
North East England
- Darlington
- Durham
- Gateshead
- Hartlepool
- Middlesbrough
- Newcastle upon Tyne
- North Tyneside
- Northumberland
- Redcar and Cleveland
- South Tyneside
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Sunderland
North West England
- Blackburn with Darwen
- Blackpool
- Cheshire East
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Cumbria
- Greater Manchester
- Halton
- Lancashire
- Merseyside
- Warrington
Northern Ireland
- County Antrim
- County Armagh
- County Down
- County Fermanagh
- County Londonderry
- County Tyrone
SW Scotland, Lothian Borders
- Dumfries and Galloway
- Scottish Borders
South West England
- Bath and North East Somerset
- Bournemouth
- Bristol
- Cornwall
- Devon
- Dorset
- Gloucestershire
- Isles of Scilly
- North Somerset
- Plymouth
- Poole
- Somerset
- South Gloucestershire
- Swindon
- Torbay
- Wiltshire
Strathclyde
- Argyll and Bute
- East Ayrshire
- North Ayrshire
- South Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
Wales
- Blaenau Gwent
- Bridgend
- Caerphilly
- Cardiff
- Carmarthenshire
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Gwynedd
- Isle of Anglesey
- Merthyr Tydfil
- Monmouthshire
- Neath Port Talbot
- Newport
- Pembrokeshire
- Powys
- Rhondda Cynon Taf
- Swansea
- Torfaen
- Vale of Glamorgan
- Wrexham
West Midlands
- Herefordshire
- Shropshire
- Staffordshire
- Stoke-on-Trent
- Telford and Wrekin
- Warwickshire
- West Midlands Conurbation
- Worcestershire
Yorkshire & Humber
- East Riding of Yorkshire
- Kingston upon Hull
- North East Lincolnshire
- North Lincolnshire
- North Yorkshire
- South Yorkshire
- West Yorkshire
- York
It warns a spell of strong winds is expected to move northeast across a large swathe of the UK through Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning.
What to expect
- Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely.
- Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely.
- It’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities affected by spray and/or large waves.
