Fresh weather warnings issued as Storms Elin and Fergus batter the UK

Storm Fergus is set to sweep across the UK later on Sunday evening

Author: Rory GannonPublished 10th Dec 2023

The Met Office has issued a second set of weather warnings this weekend ahead of the arrival of Storm Fergus later tonight.

The UK has already been hit by Storm Elin, which rolled across the UK earlier this weekend, but the second named weather system of the week - Storm Fergus - is set to make landfall on Sunday evening (December 10th).

First reaching western areas this evening, the storm will soon extend to most of the country, with Scotland and the North East of England particularly affected.

As a result of the increasingly wet and windy weather, the Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for the North East of England, the South East of Scotland and the North West of Scotland.

Emergency services have already been called on Sunday as the country tries to reel from the deluge, with more rain set to fall on already heavily saturated ground.

In addition to the potential for flooding, strong winds have toppled trees, taken roofs off buildings and also scattered debris across streets.

Storm Fergus, named by the Irish Meteorological Service Met Éireann, is expected to bring around 30 to 40 millilitres of rain, with added threats of hail and thunder, according to the Met Office.

The warnings will be in place throughout Sunday night and into Monday morning for the worst affected areas.

The Environment Agency has also issued some 40 flood warnings throughout England, whilst Scotland's Environmental Protection Agency has announced just three.

Winds will reach their peak, however, on the other side of the country, with the Bristol Channel and South Wales expected bare the brunt of the gale-force winds.

As a result, the bad weather will no doubt exacerbate ongoing disruption to travel as rail, ferry and air transport continue to face major delays due to the poor conditions.

Simon Partridge, a forecaster for the Met Office said: "There will be some further spells of heavy rain, particularly in Wales and the north of England."

He continued: "In these areas the ground is already very saturated which makes flooding possible. There could be strong localised gales, especially in south Wales."

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