‘DANGER TO LIFE’
UK weather: Snow and ‘life-threatening’ floods to hit today as deadly US ‘bomb cyclone’ sparks chaos in Britain
THE country is bracing itself for snow and life-threatening floods today as stormy weather hits.
A bomb cyclone sparking chaos in North America is headed for the UK and weather warnings have been put in place across the country.
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The deadly storm in the US has left thousands without power as temperatures plunge to dangerous levels.
The Met Office has now issued a severe Amber warning for rain as the freezing weather bomb makes its way to us.
Heavy rain, causing a "danger to life", will fall on most of Scotland and parts of northern England today.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice are also in place today.
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The warnings were put in place at 3am and are expected to remain until midday.
The weather service said: "Fast flowing or deep floodwater is likely, causing danger to life.
"Rain will become heavy and persistent overnight into Friday morning.
"Accumulations of 40-50mm are expected quite widely with 60-70mm possible in a few upland locations.
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"Following recent wet weather, river and surface water flooding is likely."
New Years celebrations are likely to be washed out as heavy rainfall and high winds will impact most of the nation through Saturday.
The Met Office has since issued a yellow weather warning for ice and wind in the north of Scotland for tomorrow.
They have also announced a warning for rain along the south coast affecting Plymouth, Portsmouth and Brighton.
Heavy rain will head will also cover Bath, Bristol and south Wales.
People are being urged to prepare a flood plan to help reduce the impact on homes.
The Met Office also advises to have a flood kit at the ready - which includes items such as a first aid kit, a torch, waterproof clothes and bottled water.
If you live in an area at risk of flooding, you can sign up to flood warnings .
Southern areas including London and Brighton will remain mostly clear through the day with spots of showers, and highs of 13C.
Meteorologist Simon Partridge said the wet and windy weather was being caused by the bomb cyclone in the US.
He said: "The UK weather is going to remain unsettled with further spells of wet and windy weather due to the strengthening of the jet stream because of the weather in the US.
He said that the impact on the UK would be "nowhere near" as significant as it was on the US.
"The effect it's having on the UK is nowhere near as dramatic because that system has brought up a lot of cold air further south, across the US," he added.
He said the knock-on effect for the UK is spells of wet and windy weather over the next seven to 10 days.
TRAVEL DISRUPTION
Network Rail said the heavy overnight rain "means we need to limit train speeds in many areas of Scotland for everyone's safety".
The West Coast Main Line is closed between Lockerbie and Carstairs due to flooding at Beattock, Dumfries and Galloway, following "extreme overnight rainfall".
Network Rail Scotland tweeted: "We're dealing with over 20+ flooding issues across Scotland's Railway, causing severe disruption."
ScotRail advised that services through Drumchapel station in Glasgow are being severely affected by the weather, and various other routes have also been disrupted, including trains going through Glasgow Queen Street.
Some trains may travel at a reduced speed or be cancelled.
The weather is likely to put a dampener on partygoers hoping to see in the New Year too.
While an RMT walkout over Christmas ended on Boxing Day, travellers have been warned that services will remain “significantly disrupted” into the new year.
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The severe deluge is expected to result in travel chaos as roads may flood while train and bus services will grind to a halt.
The Met Office said delays and some cancellations to train and bus services are likely.
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