Met Office issues double yellow weather warning for Devon and …

A double yellow weather warning for wind and for rain has been put in place for Devon and Cornwall this festive week. The warning for strong winds will come into place on Wednesday (December 27) and covers the coastal areas of the two counties as well as much of the south coast along the English Channel.

Forecasters at the Exeter-based Met Office said the yellow warning will be in place from 3am until 6pm and have warned of wind gusts of up to 70mph in exposed areas.

A Met Office spokesperson said: "A spell of strong south westerly winds are likely during Wednesday, initially affecting Cornwall in the west of the warning area before spreading eastwards through the course of the day. Gusts are likely to reach 50-60 mph fairly widely, with a risk of 65-70 mph across some exposed headlands. Disruption or delays to transport are possible."

The high winds could lead to travel disruption in affected areas. The Met Office warned of possible delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport while it’s likely that some coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and/or large waves.

The spokesperson added: "Probably some bus and train services might be affected, with some journeys taking longer while some short term loss of power and other services is possible. Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges likely."

The yellow warning for rain covers the whole South West region and much of Wales and will be in place from Midnight until 3pm on Wednesday.

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The Met Office warned that outbreaks of heavy rain will move northeastwards across England and Wales during the day with between 20mm and 30mm of rain expected to fall (about an inch of rain).

The spokesperson added: "Across the warning area 20-30 mm of rain is expected to accumulate quite widely. Across south facing slopes of Dartmoor[4] and the Dorset Downs, the western Pennines and parts of the Lake District, 40-60 mm is likely during this period. The greatest totals will probably be across the high ground of south and west Wales, where 70-90 mm of rain could develop."

They warned that strong winds will likely exacerbate any impacts from the rain. Heavy rain could compound any disruption from high winds with bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer, while spray and flooding on roads could make journey times longer.

They added: "Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely. Some interruption to power supplies and other services is likely."

References

  1. ^ Mystery as man's body found near Devon school (www.devonlive.com)
  2. ^ Lucky escape for Exeter residents after fire (www.devonlive.com)
  3. ^ Try DevonLive Premium for FREE with no intrusive ads and brilliant new features (www.devonlive.com)
  4. ^ Dartmoor (www.devonlive.com)

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