Storm Barra

Strong winds, heavy rain and snow have hit parts of the UK, as Storm Barra sweeps across the country.

Most of the UK is covered by severe yellow weather warnings - with only the far north of Scotland set to escape the worst weather.

Forecasters are predicting gales and blizzards, with gusts of up to 80mph expected in parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and south-west Scotland later.

Thousands of homes in Northern Ireland and Wales have already lost power.

But Storm Barra is not expected to be as bad as its predecessor Arwen, which hit the UK 11 days ago and left thousands of homes without electricity.

About 500 homes are still without power in the north-east of England, an area in the path of the new storm.

The Met Office weather warnings include:

• A yellow warning for wind covering all of England and Wales, as well as south-west and east Scotland, and lasting until midnight
• A yellow warning of wind for the east of Northern Ireland, lasting until 18:00 on Tuesday
• A further yellow warning for wind for parts of the south-east and south-west England and south Wales, lasting until 18:00 GMT on Wednesday
• A yellow warning of heavy snow for northern England and inland areas of Scotland lasting until midnight

As Storm Barra swept in from the Atlantic on Tuesday morning, strong winds with gusts of up to 80mph were recorded in the Republic of Ireland. Schools have been closed across 12 counties in Ireland and 49,000 homes and businesses are without power.

There will be the obligatory photographs of polytunnels travelling or having been turned into kites and greenhouses that have not been able to resist the high winds posted on Facebook. 

 

The bad weather and mainly rain in December, combines with getting ready for Christmas, and then Christmas itself make it the hardest month to get anything done on the allotment plot.