Wales is set to see another unsettled weekend with a weather warning for high winds issued. The whole of Wales is being warned of winds of up to 70mph on Sunday.
A brief window of settled weather for many overnight Friday into Saturday will be quickly pushed aside, as an area of low pressure tracks to the north of the UK bringing wet and widely windy weather. A warning for Saturday also covers Anglesey, an area which is still recovering from the effects of Storm Darragh two weeks ago. Read more here about what is happening at the port of Holyhead.
It also comes on a weekend that is expected to be busy on the roads as people head away for Christmas breaks. Read here about when the busiest times are expected on the roads.
READ MORE: Flash flooding hits parts of Wales as new warnings and alerts issued
READ MORE: M4 obstruction causes hour-long delays
The period of unsettled weather is not a named storm but there is a warning of winds of up to 80mph in parts of the UK. The yellow warning for Sunday, which is in place from midnight until 9pm, says that “strong and gusty” northwesterly winds are expected to develop during the day. Gusts of 50-60 mph are expected quite widely, and around some exposed coasts and hills of gusts 70mph are possible, especially in the north and west.
In addition, squally showers are likely with some hail and thunder possible in places. The warning adds: “This has the potential to cause delays to public transport and some disruption to the road network, which may have a greater than usual impact given the busier pre-Christmas weekend travel. Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard.”
The weather warnings in place:
-Credit:Met Office
Deputy chief meteorologist Dan Harris said: “A deep area of low pressure is expected to pass to the north of Scotland on Saturday, heading towards southwest Norway. Yellow wind warnings are currently in place across northern and western parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland, where there’s a small chance of gusts in excess of 80mph across parts of the Hebrides, Orkney, and parts of the north and west Scottish mainland coast. Delays or cancellations to sea and air transport are possible given these winds, amongst other impacts.
“More generally however, gusts of 60-75mph are likely and when coinciding with daytime travel in the busier pre-Christmas period, may cause some travel disruption.”
The continued bad weather comes after parts of Wales experienced flash flooding on Wednesday night. There are a number of flood alerts in place across the country as a result.
The Met Office forecast for this weekend says: “”Mostly cloudy with rain gradually spreading southeastwards on Friday across the region, clearing into the evening. Milder than Thursday but with blustery winds picking up in strength again. Maximum temperature 10 °C.
“Further rain or showers during the weekend and on Monday. Often blustery, and particularly windy on Saturday with coastal gales. Coldest on Sunday with notable wind chill.”