Yellow weather warning issued for Northern Ireland

The weather warning, issued by the Met Office, comes into force tomorrow and includes all of the province.

The deep area of low-pressure moving in from the Atlantic has been named as Storm Barra by Met Éireann, for the level of impacts expected for the Republic of Ireland.

As the system moves in from the west, the strongest winds and impacts are expected to affect the Republic of Ireland.

As the system begins to weaken, it will bring strong winds and rain, with the rain turning to snow across northern England and Scotland.

In response, the Met Office has issued a series of yellow national severe weather warnings for wind and snow.

These warnings will affect most of the UK.

Frank Saunders, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, explained: “Strong winds arriving across the west through Tuesday morning, will spread inland and reach eastern areas through the afternoon and early evening.

“Gusts of 45-50 mph are expected widely, with 60-70 mph in exposed coastal locations.

“The strongest winds will ease across inland areas into the overnight period.”

Deputy chief meteorologist, Brent Walker, added: “A band of rain will turn to snow across northern England and Scotland through Tuesday.

“Two to five cm of snow is expected to accumulate quite widely across the warning area, but locally this could reach 10cm, particularly in parts of the Southern Uplands and Highlands.

“Strong south-easterly winds will also lead to snow drifting in places, particularly over the highest routes, adding to poor visibilities.”

With strong winds expected to affect much of the UK tomorrow, what should you expect?

- Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely;

- Probably some bus and train services affected, with some journeys taking longer;

- Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely;

- Some short term loss of power and other services is possible;

- It’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves.

Storm Barra - the second named storm of the season - is a name selected as part of the ‘Name Our Storms’ collaboration with Irish forecasters, Met Éireann, and Dutch forecasters, KNMI.