Strong winds and heavy rain are set to batter Cumbria this week.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for high winds and heavy rain from 5am until 8pm today, Thursday March 12.
It said that the strong winds were associated with an active weather front moving southeastwards across the UK.
Gusts of up to 50mph to 55mph are expected widely, with some coastal locations and areas downwind of high ground seeing gusts of 60mph or 70mph in a few places.
The winds will then ease from the north through the day.
What should I 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
- 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
Why should I care about weather warnings?
Weather warnings are issued to let people know what weather is in store for their area and what its impact could be.
The Met Office is the UK’s official weather service and is responsible for issuing weather warnings to the public.
There are three main levels of weather warning:
- Yellow – which asks people to be prepared for disruption
- Amber – which asks people to change plans that could be impacted by the weather and take action to protect themselves and their property
- Red – which is issued for weather that poses a danger to life and asks people to immediately take direct action to keep themselves and others safe from impacts of the weather
Yellow and amber warnings represent a range of impact levels and likelihoods of. This means it is important to read each warning to know what kind of impact to expect in your area, and how likely those impacts are to occur.
The Met Office began issuing impact-based warnings in 2011, which means that warnings are issued whenever the weather may have an impact on people’s day to day lives.
Previous to this, warnings were issued to the public when certain weather thresholds or levels were reached.
Impact-based warnings take multiple factors into account, these include time of day, if it may impact traffic, time of year, if the weather is unusual, if there are any seasonal events taking place and if the area is well equipped to deal with the weather.
Each warning level is designed to help people take steps to minimise the chances of disruption in their lives.
