Met Office yellow weather warning: Wind gusts of up to 70mph set to sweep UK

A woman walks near Westminster Bridge, central London in the rain. Credit: PA

Heavy downpours and gusts of up to 70mph are set to batter large parts of the UK after a weekend of Easter sun.

Forecasters at the Met Office have issued a yellow weather warning for wind, initially covering Northern Ireland along with London, south-east England, south-west England and Wales.

The warning was dropped for Northern Ireland later this morning.

The wet and wintry conditions will bring a chilly start to Wednesday.

Sunshine is likely to make way for showers that could become heavy and thundery.

In its warning, the forecaster, which said strong winds with severe coastal gales could hit the south and west, said: “West or north-west winds are expected to increase during Wednesday morning, then remain strong for much of the day.

“Gusts of 40-50mph are expected widely within the warning area, but some coastal areas, especially in parts of south and west Wales and Cornwall, could see gusts above 60-70mph during Wednesday morning.

“Outbreaks of heavy rain or showers will accompany the strong winds.”

Waves battering the promenade in Folkestone, Kent after the Met Office issued weather warnings earlier in the year. Credit: PA

A blast of cold air into Wednesday morning could even see an “increasing risk of snow over the higher ground for parts of the UK, especially in the north”, the forecaster added.

People have been warned to expect some difficult travel conditions.

The strong winds, low temperatures and heavy rain or showers being felt in many places is down to an Atlantic low-pressure system slowly moving eastwards across the UK.

Yellow weather warnings have been issued for much of the south of England, parts of Wales and Northern Ireland. Credit: Met Office

Met Office chief meteorologist Matthew Lehnert said snow is likely to fall over parts of upland Scotland overnight into Wednesday.

He added: “Some disruption due to strong winds is likely on Wednesday, especially in southern and western areas, as well as the potential for heavy rainfall and even some snow, though the latter probably confined to high ground in the north.

“It will be another cool day with temperatures of 7C to 10C in the west, with 11C to 13C possible in the south-east. However, it will feel colder in the strong winds.”

The grip of the unsettled conditions is set to last for the rest of the week, with sunshine and heavy showers for many on Thursday and persistent rain in the south on Friday.

It is then set to become drier and brighter into the weekend, while temperatures may start to rise next week.

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