Snow, rain and strong winds are expected to disrupt travel plans and potentially cause flooding as Storm Bert hits the UK.
Several weather warnings are in place, while 16 flood alerts have been issued – warning flooding is possible – in England and Scotland.
Most of the UK is affected by yellow warnings for either wind, rain or snow, with a slightly more severe amber warning covering parts of northern England and central Scotland.
Two areas of Ireland have been issued a rare red warning for heavy rain until 10am.
Check out the forecast in your area
London, East Anglia, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Hull and swathes of the Midlands are the only parts with no current warnings in place.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern described a “multiple hazard event” going into Saturday morning.
“We’ll see two to four hours of heavy snow across parts of northern England and Scotland during Saturday morning,” he said.
“This snow will accumulate thick and fast, with five to 10cm at lower levels and as much as 20 to 40cm over hills accompanied by strong winds.
“You can expect blizzards over hills across northern England and Scotland, atrocious conditions for travelling and going over the hills and also the risk of power interruptions because of snow build up on power lines.
“So all in all, a multiple hazard event as we go into Saturday morning.”
Temperatures will rise quickly as the storm brings milder air from the Atlantic, he said, resulting in a “rapid thaw” by the afternoon.
South coast – A yellow warning for wind is in place for the entire south coast of England from 3pm until 9pm, with a slight chance of damage to buildings and power cuts.
Southwest – From 6am, a yellow warning for rain is in place in the southwest of England, from Cornwall up to Oxford and stretching to Portsmouth. This is in place until 11.45pm.
Wales – Heavy rain is likely to cause some travel disruption, particularly in South Wales, with a yellow warning across the country lasting 24 hours from 6am.
Northern Ireland – A yellow warning for rain and snow kicked in at midnight and lasts until 11am, likely affecting journey times on roads and rails.
Midlands, north and Scotland – A yellow warning for rain and snow reaching from Stoke and Nottingham up to all of Scotland started at 4am and stays in place until 9am. Manchester, Liverpool and Hull are not affected.
Southern Scotland – An amber warning for snow starts at 7am and ends at midday, covering the Pennines, Yorkshire Dales and some southern parts of Scotland.
Central Scotland – Parts of central Scotland can expect some heavy snowfall, with an amber warning for snow and ice from 7am until 5pm over Aberfeldy and surrounding areas, northwest of Perth and Dundee.
East and west coasts – From 5am until 7pm, a yellow warning for wind covers the entire eastern coasts of Scotland and northern England, down to Grimsby.
The same warning covers much of the western coastline from Wales up to northern Scotland, though Manchester and Liverpool are not included.
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What the weather warnings mean
• Yellow – people are advised to check the details of the forecast and consider extra steps to minimise any impact, while disruption is likely, particularly for travel;
• Amber – disruption is more likely and more widespread and people are advised to change plans impacted by weather;
• Red – reserved for very dangerous weather that can pose a danger to life and cause substantial travel disruption.
Travel disruption
While airports are not expecting disruption, rail companies have announced service changes over the weekend.
In Scotland, there will be speed restrictions on the West Highland Line, Highland Mainline, Stranraer Line, Glasgow South Western Line, Far North Line, and West Coast Mainline between Carstairs and the border.
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ScotRail has also withdrawn services from Inverness to Elgin, Aberdeen to Inverurie, and Glasgow Queen Street to Oban.
The TransPennine Express, meanwhile, “strongly” urged customers not to travel north of Carlisle on Saturday and Avanti West Coast advised against travel north of Preston.
