Yahoo News Maps show where Storm Pia will hit UK as Met Office issues travel warning
A yellow weather warning of high winds has been issued as Storm Pia threatens to cause power cuts and disrupt travel.
Warnings of high winds and travel chaos have been issued by the Met Office as Storm Pia reached Britain on Thursday morning.
Strong winds are expected across a large swathe of the country throughout the day, with gusts of up to 80mph in Scotland. A yellow weather warning, meaning travel disruption is likely, is in place until at least 3pm.
Power cuts and transport issues are likely in the worst affected areas. High-sided vehicles could be affected on exposed roads and coastal routes could be sprayed by high waves.
The Met Office warned overnight that strong west to northwesterly winds had developed across much of the UK with widespread gusts of 45-55 mph. Stronger gusts of 60-70 mph are likely over and to the east of high ground and winds of between 70-80 mph were recorded across Shetland early on Thursday. However, it is predicted that winds gradually decrease throughout the day.
The system has been named Storm Pia by the Danish Met Institute, the UK Met Office has not yet officially recognised it as such.
🌬️ A windy start to Thursday, particularly in the north of the UK
🌧️ Cloud, rain and drizzle slowly sinking southwards
🌦️ Sunshine and blustery showers in the north, with thunder and lightning possible
⚠️ Stay #WeatherAware pic.twitter.com/WpH8j8HjZV— Met Office (@metoffice) December 20, 2023
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said: “Strong winds are likely to develop across a large area of the UK. We’ve issued a large yellow warning area where there’s a potential for some impacts, but gusts of 50-60mph are possible for large parts of central and northern areas of the UK.
“Exposed coasts and high ground could see gusts of 70-80mph at times, mainly across the far north of Scotland. There’s a chance this low pressure will continue to exert its influence into Friday, so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest Met Office forecast."
Christmas travel warnings
British Airways has apologised to customers for having to make adjustments to its schedule.
The airline said: "As a result of Air Traffic Control restrictions put in place because of Storm Pia, we have had to make some adjustments to our schedule today. We have apologised to our customers for any disruption to their travel plans and our teams are working hard to get them on their way as quickly as possible."
It is unclear exactly how many flights were affected, but it is reportedly around 24 short-haul domestic and European flights to and from London Heathrow, The Independent reported.
Schools were closed for the day on the Scottish island of Shetland, and the TransPennine Express (TPE) "strongly" urged customers to delay journeys in and out of the Scottish capital until after 3pm.
TPE said speed restrictions would be in place and that it will not run services between the city and north-west England until the afternoon.
Network Rail also said many services will only run once safety inspections have taken place, and warned of potential delays and cancellations.
Why do UK storms have names?
The first storms to be named were tropical storms in the United States in the1950s in an effort to make it easier for people to engage with weather forecasts. It was thought naming storms made them more relatable and easier to discuss and compare over time.
In the UK, the Met Office names any storm when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning. It believes that it is easier to follow the progress of a storm on TV, radio, or social media if it has a name.
The UK Met Office usually draw the names of storms from a shortlist of favourites submitted by the public.
For the 2023-24 season, it slightly changed its methods and has named a number of storms after prominent scientists, meteorologists and, in its words, others "who work to keep people safe in times of severe weather".
