A popular Northern Ireland beauty spot will be closed this weekend due to strong winds as a result of Storm Bert.

Northern Ireland Water confirmed Silent Valley will be closed on both Saturday and Sunday and is scheduled to reopen on Monday.

In a statement they said: “In light of a weather warning tomorrow with Storm Bert on the horizon predicting 60-70mph winds, NI Water would like to announce that we are closing Silent Valley over the weekend and this closure will commence once the park closes this evening as usual.

“The safety of visitors is paramount and NI Water thanks the public for their patience and cooperation as we close the site this weekend.

“We anticipate Silent Valley will be reopened on Monday 25th November and please refer to our website for further information.”

It comes as there have been warnings issued about “hazardous” routes across Northern Ireland due to snowfall and wintry weather causing travel disruption this morning.

Police have warned drivers commuting today to “drive to suit conditions” as a new warning is set to come into place due to the storm on Saturday.

Translink have warned rural service routes such as Ballyclare, Larne, Cookstown, Ballymena and Magherafelt have all been impacted.

Services from Belfast, Newcastle and Omagh did not run on this morning.

Storm Bert is set to Northern Ireland at the weekend as the Met Office issued yellow warnings ahead of late Friday night into Saturday.

The Met Office noted a risk of flooding power outages and delays as heavy rain, snow strong winds are expected ahead of further challenging conditions.

Gusts of up to 60mph will be seen in many areas of the country with top wind speeds of up to 70mph along the coast on Saturday.

Coastal routes could see large waves while high-sided vehicles are advised to avoid exposed sea fronts.

The strong winds will potentially cause power outages, damage to trees and travel delays across the country.

A wind warning will be issued from 5:00am until 7:00pm on Saturday.

Rain will move into Northern Ireland in the early hours of the morning with snowfall expected in the higher ground, particularly the North and West.

Frost is also expected to creep in with minimum temperatures of -2C, however by Saturday morning snow will melt to rain with milder temperatures reaching 14C.

Strong winds and are expected to continue into Sunday with gusts of up to 51mph and small chances of rain throughout the day,