BRITS have been warned to stock up on food and water as “multi-hazard event” Storm Bert is set to batter the UK with 70mph winds, heavy snow, rain and flooding.
The Met office has issued seven yellow and two amber weather warnings covering large parts of England, Wales and Scotland today.
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Temperatures plummeted to a bone-chilling minus 4C across parts of Scotland and minus 1C in eastern England last night.
British Gas warned it is advisable to stock up on food and water as the storm continues on its path to batter Britain.
The company said: “It’s a good habit to have at least three days’ worth of food and essentials stored in an easy-to-reach part of your home.
“That’s things like medicines, drinking water, non-perishable food and snacks and extra blankets.”
“You should also keep a torch, batteries and a phone charger close by too,” they added.
It comes as “blizzards” are set to hit today, with major train companies scrapping services in anticipation of power cuts and travel chaos.
In Scotland, there will be speed restrictions on the West Highland Line, Highland Mainline, Stranraer line, Glasgow South Western Line, Far North Line, and West Coast Mainline between Carstairs and the border.
ScotRail has also withdrawn services from Inverness to Elgin, Aberdeen to Inverurie, and Glasgow Queen Street to Oban while trains from Glasgow Central to Carlisle will terminate at Dumfries.
Elsewhere, South Western Rail (SWR) urged passengers to only travel west of Basingstoke if their journeys are essential with longer journey times between Salisbury and Exeter, as well as routes from Bournemouth to Weymouth.
And, TransPennine Express “strongly” advised customers not to travel north of Carlisle today.
Avanti West Coast also warned passengers not to travel north of Preston – including Lancaster, Oxenholme, Penrith, Carlisle, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
On the roads, National Highways issued a “severe weather alert” for snow affecting Yorkshire and north-east England between 5am and 3pm today.
In Yorkshire, the A628 remained closed overnight in both directions between the A616 Hollingworth and the A57 Flouch due to snow.
The A66 Trans-Pennine route was closed between the A6 and the M6 (J40).
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RAC Breakdown spokeswoman Alice Simpson warned drivers to be aware of “rapidly changing conditions” on the roads because of Storm Bert.
“Persistent downpours will lead to areas of standing water, so it’s important to keep speeds down as the risk of losing control through aquaplaning on a thin layer of water is far greater,” she said.
“Drivers should also be very wary of puddles as they can sometimes hide dangerous potholes beneath that can cause expensive damage to vehicles.
“Strong winds increase the risk of debris falling into the road which makes journeys more challenging, particularly in exposed coastal areas where drivers might be at risk of being buffeted off course.
“Routes in Scotland, especially rural ones, look likely to face disruption from fresh snow that is forecast on Friday and Saturday.
“We encourage motorists to stick to major roads where possible and take extra care in the worst-affected areas.
“Those who have to drive should stay tuned to weather forecasts and allow plenty of time to de-ice and de-mist your vehicle, as it’s dangerous and illegal to drive looking out of a small gap in a frozen windscreen.”
An amber alert for heavy snow and ice is in force between 7am and 5pm today in parts of Scotland, where 10 to 20cm is likely on ground above 200 metres, and potentially as much as 40cm on hills above 400 metres.
The weather warning covers parts of Angus, Perth and Kinross, Stirlingshire, Aberdeenshire and some of the Highlands, Argyll and Bute, the Borders, Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire.
It has seen Perth and Kinross Council cancel their annual Perth Christmas lights switch-on event for safety reasons.
More than 54 schools were also shut in the Highlands yesterday due to snow, with 27 closures in Aberdeenshire.
WEATHER WARNINGS
THESE are the latest up-to-date Met Office weather warnings
Yellow weather warnings
Yellow weather warning for wind in place from 5am until 7pm today, stretching from the north east of Scotland all the way down to the east Midlands.
A second yellow weather warning from 5am until 7pm today covering much of Scotland, the Midlands, reaching down as far as Birmingham and northern parts of Wales.
In Northern Ireland a yellow weather warning for rain and snow came into force at midnight and lasts until 11am.
The same alert for rain and snow is in place from 4am until 9am this morning over Scotland, and stretches down to Manchester.
A yellow weather warning for rain is affecting Wales from 6am until 6am tomorrow.
Another rain alert covers the south west coast line from 6am until 11.45pm tomorrow.
A yellow wind warning is also in place along much of the south coast from 9am until 9pm tomorrow.
Amber weather warnings
An amber warning for snow and ice is in force from 7am until 5pm tonight covering areas just north of Dundee, Perth and Stirling in Scotland.
There’s a second amber warning for snow in place from 7am until 12pm that affects southern Scotland and the Midlands.
South of the border, at least 37 schools were shut in Devon, and three in Dorset.
Ferry operator CalMac, which serves the west coast of Scotland, axed several services today in anticipation of travel chaos.
P&O Ferries confirmed the 4am sailing between Larne in Northern Ireland and Cairnryan in Scotland was also scrapped today.
A second amber warning will be in place between 7am and midday on Saturday covering parts of Yorkshire and the north east of England.
Christmas light switch-ons being held in the Midlands including the Ironbridge lights switch-on, have also been postponed.
Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said: “We’ll see two to four hours of heavy snow across parts of northern England and Scotland during Saturday morning.
“This snow will accumulate thick and fast, with five to 10cm at lower levels and as much as 20 to 40cm over hills accompanied by strong winds.
“You can expect blizzards over hills across northern England and Scotland, atrocious conditions for travelling and going over the hills and also the risk of power interruptions because of snow build up on power lines.
“So all in all, a multiple hazard event as we go into Saturday morning.”
But, there will be a “rapid thaw” by the afternoon as warmer air arrives from the Atlantic.
This could spark “localised flooding”, where the worse affected areas are predicted to be Wales, and the south west.
Over the weekend, these higher risk areas could see 75mm of rain widely, and potentially more than 100mm over the higher parts of South Wales and Dartmoor.
Rain warnings cover much of Wales from 6am on Saturday until 6am on Sunday, and south-west England from 6am on Saturday until 11.45pm.
Parts of Dartmoor and South Wales could even see up to three months worth of rain over the weekend.
The Environment Agency has also issued 12 flood alerts were flooding is possible.
Meanwhile the southern coast is expected to be battered by gusts of more than 70mph in places.
A wind warning covers coastal areas of southern England from 3pm until 9pm on Saturday.
And, the same alerts also covers Scotland from 5am until 7pm today.
Elsewhere, rain and snow warnings cover northern England from 4am to 9am, and Northern Ireland from midnight on Friday until 11am today.
Despite road and rail disruption, UK airports are not expected to be affected.
A spokesperson for Birmingham Airport said: “Whilst we are not anticipating disruption at this time… we will continue to keep a close eye on the situation, as Storm Bert moves in.”
And Manchester Airport said: “We’re expecting bad weather but aren’t anticipating any disruption.”
Newcastle Airport added that it will be operating as normal overnight with teams “fully prepared to respond should conditions deteriorate”.
Areas affected by Met Office weather warnings
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