Storm Barra: Where in the UK it's hitting and what weather warnings are in place?

Waves crash against the seafront in Selsey in West Sussex, as Storm Barra hit the UK and Ireland with disruptive winds, heavy rain and snow on Tuesday. Credit: PA

Nearly two weeks after Arwen battered parts of the UK, another storm has followed in its tracks.

Barra, the second named storm of the season, was identified by the Met Office and yellow wind weather warnings are in place as a result.

Is Barra as damaging as Arwen and which areas are in its path?

When is Storm Barra due?

Barra moved in from the Atlantic on Tuesday, following on from wet and windy weather throughout Monday.

Which areas are affected?

The storm battered the west of Ireland on Tuesday, with the area receiving the worst of the storm.

An estimated 60,000 homes across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland were struck by power cuts due to damage to the network caused by heavy rain and gales of up to 70mph.

Cork, Kerry and Clare in the Republic of Ireland were given the most severe 'red' warning, while an orange level warning is in place for much of the east and west coast.

For Northern Ireland, Met Eireann has a yellow warning for wind and rain for Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry. The warning is in place until Wednesday morning.

Shops in the town of Bantry in Ireland which flooded after Storm Barra hit. Credit: PA

Met Office has also issued yellow wind warnings across England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Frank Saunders, a Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, said on Monday strong winds arriving across the west through Tuesday morning "will spread inland and reach eastern areas through the afternoon and early evening".

Additionally, a band of rain is set to turn to snow across northern England and Scotland on Tuesday. As a result, yellow snow and ice warnings are in place in these areas.

The Environment Agency has issued eight flood warnings for England’s south and north east coast, as well as 54 flood alerts.

How strong is Barra?

The storm has brought gusts of 45-50 mph, increasing to 70mph in areas like Berry Head in south Devon and Sherkin Island, south-west of Co Cork in Ireland. There were further gusts of 69mph at Aberdaron, on the western tip of the Llyn Peninsula in Wales. In comparison, Storm Arwen lashed the UK with gusts of almost 100 miles per hour.

Barra's strongest winds will ease across inland areas into the overnight period, the Met Office said.

Two to five centimetres of snow is expected to accumulate fairly widely across the area in Scotland covered by the yellow snow warning.

"Locally this could reach 10cm, particularly in parts of the Southern Uplands and Highlands," Deputy Chief Meteorologist Brent Walker said.

In Ireland, schools have been told to keep their doors closed as a rare red warning was given for Cork, Kerry and Clare.

There were 70mph gusts on Sherkin Island, south-west of County Cork on Thursday.

Snow is expected in areas of Scotland.

How will people be impacted?

Areas covered by snow and wind warnings should expected travel disruption, including possible road delays and train cancellations, the Met Office said.

It added that coastal communities covered by the wind warning will likely be affected by spray and large waves, while the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) urged people to stay well back from the water’s edge.

Barra comes ten days after Storm Arwen hit, causing disruption and affecting power supplies to around one million homes - still thousands of families have been left without power.

On Tuesday, the Prime Minister said it was not acceptable how long it had taken to get many households back up and running after power outages.

Boris Johnson said power had been restored for 99.9% of those impacted, but that "hundreds" were still impacted.


'Hundreds' of households are still without power due to Storm Arwen

How did Barra get its name?

The storm was named by Met Éireann the Irish equivalent of the Met Office.The Met Office, Met Éireann and the Netherlands' Meteorological institute, selected storm names for the 2021/22 season from the public's suggestions.