Traffic & Travel: Weather warnings for wind, rain and snow in force for large parts of GB and Ireland

The UK Met Office and Met Eireann have issued a number of warnings for wind and rain with snow forecast for Scotland.

Orange warnings are in place for parts of the Republic of Ireland but Northern Ireland, with strong winds forecast, currently has no warnings issued.

UK Met Office forecast

Today:

Further outbreaks of rain spreading northwards, the rain falling as snow above 200 meters across Scotland. Clearer conditions with showers arriving from the south later. Windy, with coastal gales, especially across northern Scotland later, potentially with storm force winds.

Tonight:

Rain and hill snow across the far north becoming confined to Shetland with severe gales. Elsewhere, a mixture of clear spells and showers, showers banded together in the west. Windy.

Thursday:

Showers or longer spells of rain pushing in from the west at times. The showers will be locally heavy and squally, perhaps with hail.

Met Eireann Forecast

Status Orange - Wind warning for Clare, Cork, Kerry, Galway

Met Éireann Weather Warning

Strong to gale force westerly winds, coupled with spring tides. Coastal flooding is likely.

Valid: 15:00 Wednesday 27/12/2023 to 00:00 Thursday 28/12/2023

Issued: 10:45 Wednesday 27/12/2023

Status: Yellow. Very strong and gusty southwesterly winds in conjunction with spring tides, may lead to coastal flooding. Squally showers, with a chance of thunderstorms, may lead to localised flooding.

Status Yellow - Wind and Rain warning for Ireland

Met Éireann Weather Warning

Very strong and gusty southwesterly winds in conjunction with spring tides, may lead to coastal flooding.Squally showers, with a chance of thunderstorms, may lead to localised flooding.

Orange wind warning issued for four counties in Ireland

By David Young, PA

A status orange wind warning has been issued for four counties in the south west as Storm Gerrit sweeps across the island of Ireland.

The warning covering Clare, Cork, Kerry and Galway will come into effect at 3pm and will be in place throughout Wednesday, lifting at midnight.

Met Eireann said the counties would see very strong westerly winds. With the storm coupled with spring tides, the forecaster said coastal flooding was likely.

A status yellow warning for wind and rain is in operation for the rest of the country until midnight on Wednesday.

Strong and gusty southwesterly winds are forecast.

Met Eireann said the strong winds combined with spring tides may lead to coastal flooding in places.

It said squally showers, with a chance of thunderstorms, could also see localised flooding elsewhere.

In Northern Ireland, a Met Office yellow wind and rain warning covering the entire region came into effect at 2am on Wednesday and lifted at 10am.