Weather warnings for snow and wind are set to come into force in Cumbria as Storm Barra approaches.
The Met Office has issued a yellow warning – the lowest level of three used by the forecaster – for most of the county with only parts of west and south Cumbria not included in the warning area.
The warning for wind, however, covers the whole of the county and warns of gusts of up to 65mph.
What do the warnings say?
Snow
Warning period: 11am -11.59pm today.
What to expect:
- Possible travel delays on roads stranding some vehicles and passengers
- Possible delays or cancellations to rail and air travel
- There is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off
- There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected
“Spells of hill snow will spread northwards across central and northern England into Scotland during Tuesday, this snow becoming confined to areas north of the Central Belt of Scotland during the evening.
“Two to five centimetres of snow is expected to accumulate quite widely above 200m with 10 to 20cm likely in some higher areas, particularly in parts of the Southern Uplands and Highlands.
“Strong winds accompanying the snow will cause blizzards with drifting and poor visibility in places, especially over the highest routes.”
Wind
Warning period: 9am – 11.59pm today.
What to expect:
- Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely
- Probably some bus and train services affected, with some journeys taking longer
- Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely and some damage to trees possible
- Some short term loss of power and other services is possible
- It’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves
“Windy conditions developing over western UK early on Tuesday morning will soon spread eastwards across the warning area bringing gales, severe over coastal areas, for a time. Wind in many areas will start to ease during Tuesday evening.
“Inland, gusts of 45-50 mph are widely expected with coastal areas likely to see gusts of 55-65 mph, especially along North Sea coasts during the evening. In addition to wind, showers and longer spells of rain, as well as hill snow in the north, will make for unpleasant and difficult travel conditions.”
