Friday morning forecast 18/02/22
18 February- National weather forecast presented by Alex Deakin.
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00:00Here at the Met Office, we only issue red weather warnings when we think there is a
00:04threat to life from the weather and we put one out on Thursday morning because storm
00:09Eunice is really packing a punch during Friday. Thursday saw a scattering of showers across
00:14Scotland, the cloud increasing further south. That is the first sign of storm Eunice approaching
00:20and this double-headed structure in the satellite image is a sure sign of that storm intensifying.
00:27It really is picking up pace as it approaches Ireland. The isobars popping out of the middle
00:33of it, really developing rapidly this storm and it's particularly the squeeze in the isobars
00:38that we're concerned about barrelling towards south Wales and south west England, likely
00:43to bring damaging gusts of winds. But it's going to be a very windy day for a large part
00:48of the country. We are likely to see significant disruption from storm Eunice. Spreading the
00:54cloud in through Thursday evening. Ahead of it, clear skies across north-east Scotland,
00:58could allow temperatures to drop well below freezing. But temperatures picking up in the
01:02south overnight as the wet weather moves in. Heavy snowfall for a time across northern
01:06Ireland and increasingly northern England, mostly over hills here but into southern and
01:10central Scotland, some significant snowfall also likely. As I said, as the winds pick
01:15up and the rain moves in, temperatures will rise through the night but we will see a frost
01:19in northern Scotland. But the greatest cause for concern from storm Eunice is the strength
01:24of the wind, particularly first thing on Friday morning. So here's the storm system
01:28moving in. This is the gust graphic. The pale pink, the lightest shade of pink, that's gusts
01:32of 50 to 60 miles an hour. Each darker shade of pink an extra 10 miles an hour. So we are
01:38going to see these very strong winds, particularly across England and Wales during the course
01:44of the day. Let's go through that again but slightly slower. So as the storm system approaches,
01:49look at the clock in the top of the screen there, four o'clock in the morning, the worst
01:53of the winds, probably these dark pink colours there just approaching Pembrokeshire, the
01:56north coast of Devon and Cornwall through the early hours and pushing a significant
02:01storm surge up through the Bristol Channel. So this is nine o'clock in the morning, rush
02:05hour across south Wales, south west England, some really nasty conditions but also those
02:09gusts getting very strong right along the south coast. Fast forward a few hours, those
02:14strong winds transferring up across north Wales into north west England and also notice
02:19east Anglia and the south east. Don't often inland get these kind of gusts of 50, 60,
02:2470 miles an hour but a distinct possibility during Friday, especially around the middle
02:29part of the day and then in the afternoon, the strongest winds transferring across eastern
02:33parts of England before the storm heads out into the North Sea. So we're going to see
02:38that transfer of those strongest winds through the day from west to east. So Storm Eunice
02:45is bringing those strong winds as we've seen but also likely to bring some snow, especially
02:49on its leading edge. So let's break down those weather warnings. Already mentioned
02:53that red warning, a rare red warning for parts of the south west. The gusts here through
02:59the morning, 70, 80, 90 miles an hour, perhaps more on some of those exposed coasts through
03:06south Wales and the north coast of Devon and Cornwall up through the Bristol Channel. Significant
03:11waves, a storm surge, that's where the whole of the sea gets lifted up. So the real threat
03:16of coastal flooding and the danger to life. Please do not go out if you're in that red
03:21warning area unless you absolutely have to. Consider your travel plans even in the amber
03:26area as well, because as we've seen through the day, those gusts are going to extend across
03:30pretty much all of England and Wales, gusts 50, 60 times, maybe 70 miles an hour and again
03:35around coasts, maybe 80 miles an hour, particularly in the northwest around the middle part of
03:40the day. Travel and power disruption, highly likely in this zone. We then have a yellow
03:46wind warning across parts of northern England, but also a snow warning across Northern Ireland
03:51and parts of Scotland away from the coast. Hard to say exactly how much, depends on the
03:55exact track, but a few centimetres likely even at low levels and easily over the hills
03:59of southern and eastern Scotland, 20 centimetres. Blowing around, of course, with the strong
04:04winds. That means blizzards, so some pretty treacherous travelling conditions, particularly
04:08on some of those higher routes, the A9, for example, across parts of Scotland during Friday
04:12afternoon. Let's look at the weather then. You can see the swirl. That is Storm Eunice
04:16taking the wet weather across northern England into southern Scotland, up into eastern Scotland.
04:21Lots of snow falling here. Again, mostly over the hills, but some to lower levels. And then
04:26we'll see bands of showers working across northern England and Wales. Actually, much
04:30of the south looking quite bright through Friday afternoon, but it will still be blustery
04:34as those strong winds. You can see that swirl there. That's the storm moving out into the
04:39North Sea by the end of Friday. Following on behind that, there will be lots of showers
04:43and it's cold air as well. Temperatures tomorrow morning, sorry, temperatures on Friday morning
04:48may reach 10 or 11 Celsius, but through the afternoon, a strong wind bringing significant
04:53wind chills. It's going to feel cold with that gusty, gusty wind, which will only slowly
04:58continue to ease during Friday evening. More wintry showers coming into the northwest,
05:03so we could see some more snow to low levels from northern England, northern Ireland and
05:07Scotland. There'll be showers, so there'll be hit and miss, but we could see some further
05:10issues with that. It might turn icy as well as we head into the weekend. And then look
05:14at this little curl of wet weather swinging in across England and Wales on Saturday. That
05:19could have some snow mixed into it, particularly for Wales, northern England and parts of the
05:23Midlands. Again, it looks mostly like it's going to be over high ground. We could see
05:27some coming to lower levels as well and more heavy rain and gusty winds come the afternoon
05:32across parts of the south. So, yes, units out of the way on Friday, but still the likelihood
05:37of potentially disruptive weather throughout this weekend. That little feature zipping
05:42through quite quickly on Saturday. There's Eunice. That storm disappears. Then there's
05:47that feature for Saturday and it's followed hot on the heels by another deep area of low
05:50pressure. The low itself to the north this time, but a tangle of weather fronts, tightly
05:54packed ice bars, another spell of wet and windy weather for Sunday coming in. So, yes,
05:59although Eunice is out of the way by the end of Friday, the weekend promises potential
06:03for further disruption with more strong winds, further spells of heavy rain and the potential
06:08for more snow in places also. Please keep up to date with the very latest. The warnings
06:14are constantly being monitored. We're 24-7 here in the Met Office and you can see those
06:19warnings for yourself. Download the app, visit our website and make sure you stay across
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