Heavy snow is poised to inflict further disruption to the UK.
As Storm Goretti approaches Britain, the Met Office has issued widespread weather warnings for snow across 32 UK counties. Storm Goretti, named by the French meteorological service Meteo-France, is the first storm of the year with the ‘multi-hazard’ event forecast to bring heavy snow of up to 30cm.
The brutal storm will make its presence felt today with two amber warnings for Thursday evening as the storm approaches, including an amber wind alert for Cornwall, where gusts of 80–90mph are expected. Officials warn there is a danger to life from large waves and flying debris. Storm Goretti will continue to hang around into tomorrow, with the Met Office issuing amber and yellow weather warnings for snow that cover large swathes of the country.
32 counties are to be covered in snow on Friday (Image: Paul Campbell/PA Wire)
Widespread weather warnings are in place for Friday (Image: Met Office)
An amber warning for snow will come into place at 8pm this evening and will remain in place until 9am tomorrow morning, January 9.
The huge amber warnings cover central Wales alongside large parts of south and north Wales. It also spans across the east and west Midlands ,as well as parts of Yorkshire and the Humber.
The heavy snow will start this evening and will “ease through the course of Friday morning, turning more to rain or sleet at times at low levels”. However, “disruption is likely to persist into Friday after snow stops falling”.
Elsewhere, a yellow weather warning for snow spanning 19 hours will come into effect at 5pm this afternoon.
Remaining until midday tomorrow, the alert covers south Wales, the east Midlands, north west and north east England, as well as large parts of south West England, London and the south East and Yorkshire and the Humber
The heavy snow is set to inflict further disruption (Image: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire)
Devon and Somerset will be hit with a yellow weather warning for snow at 8pm this evening.
In place until 9am tomorrow morning the Met Office says that “accumulations of 2-5 cm are expected above 200 m elevation, with perhaps as much as 10 cm on the highest ground of Dartmoor and Exmoor”.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said: “There is some uncertainty over the exact track of Storm Goretti, which will influence the locations most likely to see disruptive snow.
“Amounts of snow will also depend quite heavily on both elevation and the intensity of precipitation, and as this becomes somewhat lighter into Friday this will lead to an awkward mix of rain, sleet and snow, gradually clearing away to the east.”
Widespread yellow weather warnings for rain are also in place. These warnings cover: Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Peterborough, Suffolk, North East Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, west Wales and parts of south Wales.
The 32 UK counties to be hit with snow on Friday
Wales
Powys
Gwynedd
Ceredigion
England
Shropshire
Staffordshire
West Midlands
Warwickshire
Worcestershire
Herefordshire
Derbyshire
Nottinghamshire
Leicestershire
Greater Manchester
Cheshire
Merseyside
Lancashire
South Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
East Riding of Yorkshire
Lincolnshire
Cambridgeshire
Norfolk
Suffolk
Gloucestershire
Oxfordshire
Wiltshire
Somerset
Cornwall
Devon
Dorset
Bristol
Bath & North East Somerset
