Storm Bert: Met Office warns 'weather bomb' to hit UK this weekend with rain, snow and wind

Storm Bert will move across the Atlantic on Saturday, with pressure dropping dramatically in a 24 hour period - a phenomenon which meteorologists define as a ‘weather bomb’. As a result, parts of the country look set to be hit by winds of up to 60mph on Saturday morning, with heavy rain and, at times, snow and freezing rain over the weekend.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Holley said: “Storm Bert marks a shift to much milder air and wintry hazards will gradually diminish through the weekend, but heavy snowfall is expected across parts of northern England and Scotland for a time on Saturday, especially over higher ground, and warnings are in place.”

“Heavy rain through Saturday and Sunday, especially in southern and western parts of the UK, will also bring impacts for some with a number of warnings in place. We expect 50-75 mm of rainfall quite widely within the warning areas, but in excess of 100 mm is possible over high ground in parts of Wales and southwest England.”

“In addition, rapid melting of lying snow over the weekend and periods of strong winds are likely to exacerbate impacts and bring the potential for travel disruption, as well as flooding for some.”

Severe weather warnings have been issued as a result of Storm Bert. An amber warning for snow and ice covers central and northern parts of Scotland from 7am on Saturday (November 23) until 5pm the same day.

The Met Office said in the warning: “Heavy snow will spread northeastwards on Saturday morning, giving significant accumulations in many areas. Accumulations of 10-20 cm are likely on ground typically above 200m, with potentially as much as 20-40 cm on hills above 400m.

“Snow will eventually revert to rain during Saturday afternoon, but may be preceded by a short spell of freezing rain in places adding to the ice risk. Strengthening winds will lead to drifting of lying snow, with difficult travelling conditions likely on higher level routes, and the risk of interruptions to power supplies. A fairly rapid thaw of lying snow is then likely on Saturday night as milder air moves in.”

A yellow weather warning for rain and snow is in place for most of Scotland and northern England from 4am on Saturday, November 23 until 9am on Sunday, November 24 - a similar warning is in place over Northern Ireland from 12am-11am on Saturday.

A yellow warning for win covers coastal areas, with the eastern coast of northern England and Scotland covered by the warning from 5am on Saturday until 7pm the same day. The same warning covers the west coast, stretching from northern Scotland down to North Wales. There are also rain warnings over Wales between 6am on Saturday until 6am on Sunday, and the south-east from 6am on Saturday until 11.45pm on Sunday.