UK weather forecast: Storm Erik to batter UK for second day with rain and 70mph winds

Bonnie Christian9 February 2019

Storm Erik’s strong winds are set to bring another blustery day to Britain before snow showers hit parts, forecasters have warned.

The storm has wreaked havoc across the UK with planes struggling to land, trees being blown onto buses and thousands left without power.

Weather warnings are in place across Scotland and northern England as winds up to 70mph are expected to batter the country for a second day on Saturday.

The storm’s strongest recorded gust on Friday was 84mph at Capel Curig, in Wales, the Met Office said.

The winds have made for difficult driving - and flying - conditions.

Footage showed a British Airways plane forced to abandon its initial landing at Heathrow airport after strong winds put the aircraft off-balance seconds before it was about to touchdown.

Also on Friday, a tree fell on to a double-decker bus in Dorset, but no injuries were reported.

A driver in Belfast also had a lucky escape as a tree was blown onto their car on Friday.

Local media has reported that trees and powerlines have been brought down in South Cumbria, leaving more than 6,000 homes without power on Saturday.

“Strong winds will lead to some difficult driving conditions on Saturday morning, especially across northern England,” the Met Office said.

A weather warning for wind on Saturday has been extended to cover most of the UK, while in Scotland heavy rain is expected into the afternoon, with a risk of flooding in some parts.

Much of the country will see strong winds and rain showers, some mixed with hale and becoming thundery, meteorologist Alex Burkill said.

"It's going to be another very windy one, particularly across northern England, Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern Wales. They're going to have very strong winds.

"We could therefore see some further problems on roads."

As winds ease off later on Saturday, some hill snow is forecast in central and southern parts of England and into Wales, Mr Burkill said, before calmer conditions on Sunday.

"That (hill snow) will clear through Sunday morning, with blustery showers following behind. Meanwhile, in the north it's going to be a fairly bright day,” Mr Burkill said.

There will be a few showers perhaps and it could turn windy but not as windy as today by any means."

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