The Met Office has issued a rare ‘danger to life’ weather warning
Storm Dave will hit hardest on Saturday evening, April 4(Image: Met Office)
Storm Dave is set to batter the UK with strong winds, heavy rain and even up to 30cm of snowfall over Easter weekend.
The Met Office has issued a rare ‘danger to life’ amber wind warning for parts of the country, with yellow weather warnings also issued for wind and snow across northern parts of the UK.
The amber wind warning covers parts of north Wales, northern England and southern Scotland, with up to 80mph winds expected to hit. The warning comes into force at 7om on Saturday (April 4) and remains in place until 3am on Sunday (April 5).
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Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Chris Bulmer, said: “Storm Dave will bring a period of very strong winds, with the strongest gusts most likely in the Amber warning area. People should be prepared for impacts with disruption to travel likely and possible power cuts.
“Wind speeds will peak at different times as the deep area of low pressure moves across the north of the UK, with peak gusts in Northern Ireland expected earlier on Saturday afternoon before spreading more widely across the north of the UK.”
The Met Office have issued a number of warnings as Storm Dave hits UK(Image: Met Office)
Storm Dave will hit hardest on Saturday evening, before beginning to weaken on Sunday as it moves into the North Sea.
Weather maps show Storm Dave’s path as it presses northeastwards over the UK, with the top half of Britain set to be worst hit by the strong winds and heavy rain.
Forecasts show heavy snow forecast in northern parts of Scotland on Saturday evening, with heavy rain showers expected elsewhere in Scotland, northern England and Wales.
Heavy snow is forecast over northern Scotland as Storm Dave sweeps UK(Image: Met Office)
Met Office wind maps show gusts of 73mph forecast at 10pm on Saturday in Cumbria, with strong winds in excess of 60mph expected across much of the North West.
Gusts of up to 80mph could hit on Saturday evening, April 4(Image: Met Office)
Greg Dewhurst, a Met Office meteorologist, said: “There is cold air across Scotland at the moment and, as the rain pushes across this afternoon, it is going to turn to snow.
“We’ll see heavy snow forming across parts of the Highlands as we go through the rest of the afternoon into the evening time and early hours, as much as 20 to 30 centimetres could fall over the higher ground, and five to 10 centimetres over lower ground.”
However, temperatures are set to rise after Easter Monday (April 6) as warmer air comes from Europe.
Mr Dewhurst said: “On Tuesday, warmer air moves in across England and Wales from the near continent through Tuesday and into Wednesday.
“We will see temperatures rising to the low 20s, with highs around 20C or 21C on Tuesday, and possibly 23C or 24C come Wednesday. The sunniest skies on Wednesday may be limited to south-east England, where 23 and 24 is most likely.”