Wind, rain and snow warnings in place as UK braces for Storm Gerrit

The UK is set to be battered by Storm Gerrit, with a yellow weather warning for rain and snow in place in Scotland.

The storm will bring strong winds and heavy rain to many parts of the UK on Wednesday, with wintry hazards also likely, forecasters warned.

A yellow rain and snow warning comes in force from 6am to 9pm across much of Scotland on Wednesday.

The Met Office alert covers large parts of north, eastern and central Scotland including Aberdeenshire, Tayside, Fife, parts of the Lothians and the Borders.

Wind warning areas can expect gusts of 50-60mph, with up to 70mph on high ground and exposed coasts.

It follows days of high winds, blustery showers and snow battering parts of Scotland which sparked three yellow weather alerts across the country.

Met Office chief meteorologist Frank Saunders said: “Storm Gerrit will run towards western UK on Wednesday and bring with it potential impacts for much of the UK.

“Winds across southern coastal areas of England will be strong, possibly peaking around 70 mph on exposed coastlines, but more widely around 50-60 mph within the warning area.

“Rain is an additional hazard from Storm Gerrit, with active weather fronts leading to a wet day for many.

“Snow is also likely to cause problems for some northern areas: only briefly for a few upland routes across the Pennines and southern Scotland overnight and early on Wednesday, but more widely to the north of the Central Lowlands later in the day.

“Here around 10 to possibly 20cm of snow may affect some of the highest routes, this combining with very strong winds to lead to some difficult travel conditions.

“At lower levels a combination of heavy rain and very strong winds will dominate.”