Parts of the UK might see a return to the wintry conditions that hit Cumbria earlier this month (Picture: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Just when you thought we might have been all done with storms for this year, here comes Gerrit to round off 2023.
And if the Met Office’s forecasts are to be believed, it’s going to be a pretty wild finale for a year that has had no shortage of dramatic weather.
There are no fewer than nine yellow warnings in place throughout today, stretching from the northernmost island of Shetland to the southernmost tip of Cornwall.
Some are for wind, others are for rain – and there’s one in place for rain and snow, covering much of the Scottish mainland north of Glasgow.
On its website, the weather agency says: ‘Heavy rain and snow associated with Storm Gerrit may result in disruption, potentially affecting, for example, travel and power supplies.’
The potential for wintry conditions, unsurprisingly, increases the further north you get in the country – so it’s likely much of the Highlands will get a white December 27.
Some areas could see between 10 and 20 centimetres of snow.
Even beyond that area, there’s likely to be a lot of disruption to road, rail and ferry transport with winds possibly reaching 70mph on higher ground.
Those weather warnings may change over the course of the day, so the Met Office has told people to keep an eye out for any updates.
A patchwork of weather warnings are in effect across the UK today (Picture: Metro.co.uk/Met Office)
Chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said: ‘Winds across southern coastal areas of England will be strong, possibly peaking around 70 mph on exposed coastlines, but more widely around 50-60 mph within the warning area.
‘Rain is an additional hazard from Storm Gerrit, with active weather fronts leading to a wet day for many.’
Speaking yesterday, he continued: ‘Snow is also likely to cause problems for some northern areas: only briefly for a few upland routes across the Pennines and southern Scotland overnight and early on Wednesday, but more widely to the north of the Central Lowlands later in the day.
‘Here around 10 to possibly 20cm of snow may affect some of the highest routes, this combining with very strong winds to lead to some difficult travel conditions.
‘At lower levels a combination of heavy rain and very strong winds will dominate.’
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The Met Office is warning of serious disruption to road, rail and ferries.
