The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for ‘prolonged’ periods of strong winds – and the potential for some squally hail and thunderstorms for virtually the whole of tomorrow (Sunday, December 22) starting late tonight.
The weather experts said gusts of between 50mph and 60mph are ‘expected quite widely’, with some exposed coasts and hills, gusts of up to 70mph are possible. The yellow warning begins at midnight tonight into the early hours and right through the whole of Sunday until 9pm.
The warning is for the whole of the West Country, including all of Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath and Somerset.
The warning is unusual in that this is not a named storm, just a persistent strong wind sweeping down from the west and north west as the Atlantic Gulf Stream moves over the UK with a large cold front bringing chilly, wet and windy conditions.
The forecast itself is for a grey, dull, cold and wet night, followed by showers and spells of sunshine and temperatures dropping to around 4C by Sunday morning – it’ll feel more like below zero in the biting north-westerly wind, however. By Sunday afternoon, it’ll dry up as the wind blows the showers to the east, and the remainder of Sunday will be clear but still with a strong wind.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said: “Strong and gusty northwesterly winds are expected to develop on Sunday. Gusts of 50-60 mph are expected quite widely, and around some exposed coasts and hills of gusts 70 mph are possible, especially in the north and west. In addition, squally showers are likely with some hail and thunder possible in places.
“This has the potential to cause delays to public transport and some disruption to the road network, which may have a greater than usual impact given the busier pre-Christmas weekend travel. Dangerous coastal conditions can be expected too, with large waves an additional hazard.
“Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely. It’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves. Probably some bus and train services affected, with some journeys taking longer. Some short term loss of power and other services is possible. Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely.”
One very likely consequence of the high winds is that the M48 Severn Bridge is closed at some point this evening into Sunday morning, with officials monitoring the M4 Prince of Wales Bridge too. People arriving and departing from Bristol Airport, particularly late tonight and early on Sunday morning and throughout Sunday are advised to check ahead, and expect delays.