STORM Bella is set to slam Brits tomorrow, bringing severe winds and flooding – one day after the UK’s White Christmas. A total of five weather warnings are in place for Boxing Day, as the entirety of England and Wales are lashed with gales and torrential rain. Storm Bella is set to bash the south […]
STORM Bella is set to slam Brits tomorrow, bringing severe winds and flooding – one day after the UK’s White Christmas.
A total of five weather warnings are in place for Boxing Day, as the entirety of England and Wales are lashed with gales and torrential rain.
Read our UK weather live blog for the very latest news and forecasts.
Storm Bella is set to bash the south coast with 80mph winds – bringing damage to buildings, flying debris, severe flooding, and power cuts.
Brits in the affected areas are warned to watch out for falling tiles from rooves, beach material being thrown onto roads, and travel cancellations.
Mobile phone coverage may even be affected as Brits battle the storm on Boxing Day.
The Met Office said: “Storm Bella will bring disruption to travel and utilities over parts of south and southeast England and south Wales.
“Very strong southwesterly winds are expected for parts of south and southeast England and south Wales on Sunday morning.
“Inland gusts of 50-60 mph are likely with a few spots likely to see 60-70 mph for a time.
“Hills and particularly coasts exposed to the southwesterly winds will see a few gusts of 70-80 mph.
“In addition to the strong winds, a period of heavy, squally rain is expected and may prove an additional hazard.”
The storm warning comes into place at 10pm tomorrow, and will last until 9am on December 27.
Elsewhere, there are three separate rain warnings across the UK – one in Wales and the west coast, the Highlands in Scotland, and North West England.
Up to 60mm of rain could fall over hilly regions alongside the strong gales.
And with the weather warning in Scotland, people could see up to 80mm of persistent rainfall on high ground.
The Met Office said: “Heavy persistent rain across the west of Scotland for much of Boxing day with widely 20-30mm, locally 40mm, and 60-80mm on high ground.
“This is likely to result in localised flooding of roads and some properties.
“Rain will be accompanied by strong to gale force winds, resulting in difficult driving conditions and large waves giving a risk of spray along the west coast.”
And there is another severe wind warning in place tomorrow – which touches all three countries in Great Britain.
Wales, England, and southern Scotland will all be affected by the very windy weather on Boxing Day.
As well as travel cancellations, power cuts and damage to buildings are expected by the gale force 80mph winds.
The Met Office said: “In addition to the strong winds, a period of heavy, squally rain will affect western and southern areas.
“Combined with strong winds, the rain will lead to some hazardous travelling conditions.”
Boxing Day’s hazardous weather comes after many parts of the Anglia region saw up to a month’s worth of rain in 12 hours overnight into Christmas Eve.
Severe flooding in Norfolk and Suffolk ruined Christmas for families who were forced to evacuate their homes with their unopened presents.
The rivers Severn and Avon rose and burst their banks, causing danger-to-life flooding across western and southern parts of the country.
Emergency services worked through the night to rescue more than 1,000 people from the flooding at Billing Aquadrome holiday park in Northamptonshire.
Northamptonshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had handled more than 250 flood calls, with several properties affected and multiple people rescued from stranded vehicles.
And Britain had its first White Christmas in three years today – as snow fell in Suffolk and Humberside in the early hours of the morning.
Temperatures plunged as the white stuff fell across the country – leaving families to enjoy festive dog walks on Christmas Day.
