STAY ALERT UK weather: Storm Kathleen set to hit Britain in days with ‘danger to life’ yellow warnings for heavy rain & wild winds
BRITS are braced for severe weather after the Met Office officially named Storm Kathleen amid a string of "danger to life" yellow weather warnings.
Wet and windy conditions are set to continue after a washout Bank Holiday weekend with the wild weather set to spark travel chaos and power cuts.
The UK faces blustery and showery weather upon the arrival of an area of low pressure which was named as Storm Kathleen by the Met Office today.
Forecasters say Kathleen will bring strong winds to Ireland and western areas of England, Wales and Scotland, as well as all of Northern Ireland, from 8am until 10pm on Saturday.
It will arrive from the South West with "unseasonably windy" weather and heavy rain.
The weather system is likely to cause gusts of up to 60mph to 70mph in exposed areas along the west coast of England and Scotland on Saturday, and 50mph more widely.Kathleen is the first storm named by the Met Office or Irish weather service Met Eireann since Jocelyn on January 22.
It comes as the Portuguese meteorological service raised the alarm over Storm Olivia, which is expected to arrive first.
Britain will be hit by the tail end of Storm Olivia tomorrow before the second storm strikes on Saturday, said forecasters.
Four yellow warnings have been issued for various parts of the UK on Friday and Saturday, with Scotland, Northern Ireland and the west coast most affected.From 2am until 9am tomorrow, a yellow warning for rain will be in place across the Central Belt, including both Glasgow and Edinburgh.
Meanwhile, a large swathe of central Scotland stretching from just north of Glasgow to the Cairngorms will be under a snow warning from 3am to 9am on Friday.
Then on April 6, the whole of Northern Ireland, lowland Scotland, western England and western Wales will be under a yellow warning for wind from 8am to 10pm.
The Met Office said: "Gusts of 50 mph are expected quite widely on Saturday, while some exposed spots, particularly on the coast, will see 60 to 70 mph gusts with large waves also likely."
The strong winds may cause some travel disruption, with the areas covered by the warning expected to hit with delays on the roads and railways.
There is also a small possibility that "injuries and danger to life" could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.
Forecasters say there is a "small chance" some bridges may close due to the winds.
According to a Met Office weather map, parts of northern and central Scotland could see a light dusting of hill snow today.
The Scottish Highlands will see the most of any potential snow with Dalwhinnie, Fort Augustus, Fort William, Craig and Ullapool among the worst affected areas.
Loch Glascarnoch and Scardroy could also see a smattering of snowflakes, forecasters say.
However, any snowfall will be thin on the ground with less than 0.5mm falling per hour.
According to the Met Office weather maps, light snow has already started to fall in the Scottish Highlands and will continue throughout the day.
Today's weather will see showers across much of the UK with heavier rain across England and Wales.
The Met Office forecast added: "Further showers developing, and later wet and windy weather arriving from the southwest.
"Rather cloudy and chilly further north, with patchy rain and hill snow."
Wet and windy weather is expected to move north and east across all but the Northern Isles overnight.
And snow could continue to affect high ground in Scotland.
Those in the southwest may experience blustery showers later this evening.
Flooding remained a major risk for England today - with 91 flood alerts and 11 warnings in place from the Environment Agency, mostly in southern areas.
But it's not all bad news for Brits with some sunny spells on the cards for the weekend.
The Met Office says conditions will be rather mild in the south with those in the north seeing the weather "turning increasingly mild" over the weekend.
Temperatures in the low twenties are expected in southeast England on Saturday, with a small chance of peaking at 24C.
Five-day forecast
Today:
Heavy rain will persist across southern Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. Largely cloudy skies further south with showers. Showers may be heavy and thundery in eastern and northern England. Showers lighter for southern counties with brighter spells at times.
Tonight:
Rain continues to affect Scotland but easing slowly. Bands of rain run across Wales and England, turning thundery in the southwest during the early hours. Cold in the north.
Thursday:
Thundery showers continuing across southern half of the UK, with brighter spells for a time. Cloudier with light rain in central and northeastern UK, with patchy hill snow for Scotland.
Outlook for Friday to Sunday:
Spells of rain and showers continuing over the coming days and becoming increasingly windy. Rather mild in the south and turning increasingly mild in the north after a chilly start.
It will beat the spike of 19.9C recorded in northwest Scotland in January, should the forecasts hold.
The warm conditions are due to a storm system and winds from the southwest bringing above-average temperatures to many parts of the UK
He added that temperatures on Sunday will likely drop to the mid-teens resembling this week's conditions.
Pollen levels are also set to reach high levels across the country on Saturday.
The South East, East, Yorkshire, East Midlands and North West England are all set to be hit with a high count, according to the Met Office's pollen forecast.
It comes after Brits felt the lasting effects of Storm Nelson across the Easter Bank Holiday.
The Met Office recorded strong gales, and heavy rain wreaked havoc for the 2.6million cars on the roads.
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