UK weather: Storm Bert to bring snow, flooding and 70mph winds this weekend
Power cuts and travel disruption likely and there’s a good chance some rural communities could be cut off, forecaster warns
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Your support makes all the difference.Britain is facing more snow, heavy rain and strong winds this weekend as Storm Bert sweeps across the country, with the Met Office warning that travel disruption and flooding are likely.
Weather warnings are in place every day until Sunday – including seven on Saturday – as the country braces for more wintry weather after temperatures plummeted earlier in the week.
An amber alert for heavy snow and ice will be in force between 7am and 5pm on Saturday in an area north of Scotland’s central belt, where 10-20cm is likely on ground above 200 metres and potentially as much as 20-40cm on hills above 400 metres.
Forecasters said power cuts and travel disruption are likely and there is a good chance some rural communities could become cut off.
A yellow weather warning for snow and rain in place from Saturday morning to Sunday morning also warns residents in much of Scotland, northeast and northwest England, the West Midlands and Yorkshire that there could be a danger to life as snow quickly thaws to rain.
There are also warnings for rain in southwest England and Wales, where in excess of 100mm of rain is expected to fall on higher ground.
“Storm Bert marks a shift to much milder air and wintry hazards will gradually diminish through the weekend, but heavy snowfall is expected across parts of northern England and Scotland for a time on Saturday, especially over higher ground, and warnings are in place,” Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Holley said.
“Heavy rain through Saturday and Sunday, especially in southern and western parts of the UK, will also bring impacts for some with a number of warnings in place.”
He added: “In addition, rapid melting of lying snow over the weekend and periods of strong winds are likely to exacerbate impacts and bring the potential for travel disruption, as well as flooding for some.”
Ahead of the storm, wintry showers will continue to impact parts of the UK on Thursday and Friday, particularly exposed areas in the north.
A yellow warning of snow and ice for much of Scotland, northern England and parts of western and eastern England and Wales is in force between midday on Thursday and 10am on Friday.
Parts of southwest England including Plymouth and Exeter are under a yellow warning for snow until 3pm on Thursday, with 5-10cm predicted in higher parts of Dartmoor.
The wintry weather has affected education with more than 114 schools shut in the Highland Council area on Thursday due to snow, including Inverness Royal Academy where pupils were told their prelim exams planned for the day will be rescheduled.
Almost 40 schools in Aberdeenshire are also shut while many others had delayed openings, and in Moray around 12 are closed and others opened late.
It comes after more than 100 schools or nurseries were closed in Scotland on Wednesday because of the weather.
South of the border, 89 schools are shut in Devon on Thursday, 18 in Dorset and 60 in Cornwall, while in Wales around 10 are closed in Conwy, 18 in Denbighshire and two in Wrexham.
The weather has also caused transport disruption, with Stagecoach Highland services in Inverness suspended due to road conditions and Stagecoach Bluebird services in Moray disrupted.
The RAC urged people to take care on the roads. Spokeswoman Alice Simpson said: “The first taste of winter means drivers are suddenly contending with some of the worst road conditions we’ve seen all year.
“With freezing temperatures already causing disruption in the east and north of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and snow showers now affecting regions further south, we advise motorists to plan well as ice forms on untreated surfaces.”
Scotland’s transport agency, Transport Scotland, said the amber warning means roads could be affected by deep snow and “some rural communities might be cut off”.
It also warned of potential delays and cancellations to trains and buses and of power cuts and phone outages.
Scottish transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “The conditions will likely cause difficult driving conditions and disruption to the wider transport network, so it’s important that anyone that has to travel during the warning period plans their journey ahead of time.”
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