‘Vigorous’ front to soak UK in hours as ‘Atlantic zonal jet’ hits

UK weather: Further wet conditions forecast by Met Office

A ‘vigorous low pressure’ front will smash into the UK that will soak the nation with heavy rain and strong winds after a “strong zonal jet” powers its way straight across the Atlantic. Britain will be hit by persistent rain, while the Met Office has put millions on alert with new weather warning for 70mph winds. The latest UK weather maps from WXCHARTS show a huge band of heavy rain sweeping in across the Atlantic and hitting the South West coast in England on Thursday evening.

This is forecast to quickly make its way across large parts of Britain over the following hours into Friday, with the bottom half of the UK map set to be drenched.

Rain continues to linger over this half of the country on Friday, before easing later in the day and over the course of the weekend.

The maps show that by the time the weekend hits, more than 30mm of rain will have fallen from today until then in southern regions of England.

Netweather Senior Forecaster Jo Farrow warned a “vigorous low pressure” – linked to a “strong zonal jet powering its way straight across the Atlantic”, will move across the UK on Thursday night. This will unleash heavy rain and strong winds.

Earlier in the week, she said “one major Atlantic low” would throw weather fronts across the UK during Tuesday and today.

Ms Farrow said in her latest weather forecast: “A vigorous low pressure is forecast to move across southern Britain during Thursday night bringing strong winds and a spell of heavy rain.

“It is linked to a strong zonal jet powering its way straight across the Atlantic.

She said in a separate weather forecast: “A smaller, deepening low will nip towards southern England and the Channel Islands on Thursday night and Friday. Wrapped around this could be some hefty downpours and strong winds.

“The strongest gusts and possible gales shown on the UKV model look to be through the English Channel and over northern France.

“Other models show very windy weather hitting the south coast during Thursday night and Dover Straits on Friday morning. It is still a few days away so it will be worth keeping an eye on this part of the forecast.”

Met Office spokesman Grahame Madge warned weather fronts are bringing periods of heavy rain and showers this week, some of which might be thundery.

He told Express.co.uk: “Later this week there is a signal for a fairly deep area of low pressure to affect the south and west of Britain.

Don’t miss…
Octopus Energy scheme saves UK customers £150 on bills over 3 months [LATEST]
Mercury to hit mid-teens before plunging to cold depths before Easter [MAPS]
Met Office unveils when mercury will smash through spring cold snap [FORECAST]

“This could bring strong winds and heavy rain but at the moment there is a level of uncertainty about the exact depth and position of this low.

“It is currently forming at the moment and will then be expected to travel across the North Atlantic on a strong jet stream.”

AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist and Lead European Forecaster Tyler Roys told Express.co.uk three rounds of rain are hitting the UK this week – yesterday, today and final one arriving on Thursday afternoon and continuing into Saturday.

But he warned of flooding and winds surging to up to 70mph, adding: “There could be some localised flooding in poor drainage areas in Southwest England Thursday night into Friday, mainly in the typical areas that residents see.

“A wind storm is likely to be racing into southern England Thursday night into Friday. The strong winds from this storm are likely to be across southwest England and the coastal regions of the English Channel.

“Winds could gust as high as 70mph for southwest England and the English Channel islands, otherwise gusts up to 60mph are likely.

“The expectation of the storm at this time is that it will be losing its intensity, therefore the strong winds are not expected to be widespread.”

Source: Read Full Article