Met Office issues rare red wind warning
About three million people in parts of Wales and southwest England have been issued emergency warnings by the government as Storm Dara approaches the UK.
It is the biggest use of the warning system to date and is being sent to people’s mobile phones in areas covered by Met Office storm red weather warnings.
When an alert is sent to a device, a loud siren-like sound will emit, even if the device is set to silent. The alarm lasted about 10 seconds.
The Met Office earlier on Friday issued a rare red warning, the most severe type, in anticipation of the approaching storm.
The Met Office will only issue a red alert if meteorologists believe dangerous, potentially life-threatening weather is coming.
Effective Saturday from 03:00 to 11:00 GMT, Covering the west and south coast of Walesand the Bristol Channel Includes parts of Bristol and Cardiff.
The last red warning was issued in January for high winds in northeast Scotland.
The Met Office said gusts of 90mph (144km/h) or more are expected in red warning areas, which could cause flying debris and downed trees, posing a threat to life.
Amber warning covers Northern IrelandWales and the west coast of England will be in place on Saturday morning.
High winds are also expected to cause large waves, power outages affecting mobile phone service and damage to buildings and homes. Transport networks are also expected to be affected.
Heavy rain and strong winds will start to be felt across western parts of the UK on Friday night as a less severe yellow warning comes into effect.
This weather pattern will transform into Storm Dara and continue until Saturday.
The Met Office said the strongest winds will subside later on Saturday morning but will remain blustery into the evening, with an amber warning remaining in place until then.
A yellow rainfall warning has also been issued for parts of western England, indicating a risk of flooding.
in northern scotlanda yellow warning for snow has been issued, with up to 20 cm (8 inches) of snow falling above 400 m (1,300 ft). Snow will affect higher sections of the A9 and A83 and may cause disruption and potential closures.
Met Éireann has also issued a red wind warning for parts of counties Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo from 22:00 on Friday.
In Wales, all domestic football and rugby matches scheduled for Saturday have been cancelled, including Cardiff City vs Watford in the Championship It was scheduled to start at 15:00 GMT.
Other postponed Saturday football matches include Newport County’s clash with Carlisle United in League Two and Plymouth’s clash with Oxford United in the Championship.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Rugby Union has postponed all community rugby matches.
Shops and cafes in Welsh towns have decided to close their doors over the festive period on Saturday as the weather worsened on Friday evening.
Across the UK, winter events and Christmas markets scheduled for the weekend have also been widely cancelled.
In London, all Royal Parks will be closed on Saturday, including Hyde Park’s popular Winter Wonderland attraction.
Some travel providers have warned services may be affected.
Stena Line ferries said some services across the Irish Sea would be canceled on Saturday, while Scottish operator CalMac said some routes could face disruption at short notice.
National Rail said some train journeys in the South West would face disruption and urged users to check their journeys before setting off.
Bristol Airport warned passengers that “disruptions are expected” and passengers should check with their airline before traveling.
BBC Weather WatcherScottish energy company SP Energy Networks said it was mobilizing engineers to respond to the outage “as quickly as possible” but added that customers should tell them if there is a blackout.
“If you experience a power outage … please do not assume we know about it.”
The RAC is advising motorists to postpone travel due to a “highly unusual” red weather warning.
Spokesperson Alice Simpson told the BBC: “Exposed rural and coastal routes will be particularly dangerous.
“Drivers in these areas should be wary of any high-sided vehicles as they are at risk of being struck off course, or worse, blown over by the wind.”
Storm Darla is the fourth named storm this year, after Ashley, Burt and Conor.
Parts of the UK are still recovering from Storm Burt, which caused severe flooding and resulting in five deaths November.
Scientists say that as the Earth’s climate warms, extreme weather events will become more frequent. For every 1°C increase in average temperature, The atmosphere can accommodate The moisture content increases by about 7%.
Globally, heavy rainfall events are becoming more frequent and intense across most land areas, and the pattern will intensify as the climate warms further, the UN climate agency said.
