The Met Office has revealed what three areas could be hit by severe rain – Brits are at risk of flooding and have been urged to prepare emergency kits just in case
Brits have been warned to brace themselves for disastrous weather conditions which could last for 12 hours.
The Met Office has stressed that people living in three areas are at risk of major flooding, power cuts and travel disruption. The forecaster has urged members of the public to pack an “emergency” kit so they are prepared for the worst conditions.
According to the weather service, heavy rain will hit the whole of Northern Ireland on Saturday night and could continue through the following day. The Met Office has announced a yellow weather warning from midnight until midday. The areas affected are; County Antrim, County Armagh and County Down.
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The notice said: “Heavy rain will spread across the whole of Northern Ireland on Saturday night, gradually clearing to the east on Sunday morning. The rain will be heaviest in the southeast, covered by the warning area, where 20-30 mm is expected to accumulate widely. Over the Mournes 60-100 mm could build up, much of this falling in the early hours of Sunday morning.”
The Met Office also urged people to give extra time to their journeys to avoid travel disruption due to flooding risks. The advisory said: “Check if your property could be at risk of flooding. If so, consider preparing a flood plan and an emergency flood kit.
“Give yourself the best chance of avoiding delays by checking road conditions if driving, or bus and train timetables, amending your travel plans if necessary.
“People cope better with power cuts when they have prepared for them in advance. It’s easy to do; consider gathering torches and batteries, a mobile phone power pack and other essential items. Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.”
Despite the gloomy news, things could be on the up for some UK areas. Met Office meteorologist Ellie Glaisyer said: “We’ll definitely see the best of any sunshine, as we have seen, in probably eastern areas. It’s hard to say exactly where we’ll see the sunniest spells but it might just feel a bit brighter than we’ve seen recently.”
She warned it could still be a cloudy day for many but with “a few more breaks in the cloud on Saturday compared to what we’ve seen recently”. Ms Glaisyer said there will probably be “quite a damp start” to Sunday with most places likely to see rain throughout the day and windier conditions as well.
The beginning of next week is set to bring more rain to the country, with some blustery showers expected on Monday. Temperatures will be near normal, the Met Office said. The long-range forecast from Wednesday, October 22 to Friday, October 31 says an unsettled weather pattern is likely to dominate across the UK.
It reads: “Outbreaks of rain, heavy at times, and strong winds are expected to spread from the southwest as a deep area of low pressure crosses the UK later next week. This system will likely move away to leave the following weekend showery and cooler.