Wales is braced for two named storms set to hit with concerns raised about dangerous winds and even blizzards.
Storm Dudley will move across the northern half of the country from Wednesday night into Thursday morning closely followed by Storm Eunice, which will bring strong winds and the possibility of snow on Friday. Details of how the Storm Dudley warning has changed in Wales here.
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for Wednesday evening for strong winds, covering southern Scotland, northern England and part of Northern Ireland, with a wider area covered by a yellow warning.
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Yellow warnings are in place for parts of north Wales on Thursday and on Friday, the whole of the country is covered by a yellow wind earning as Storm Eunice is expected to land.
That storm is expected to bring heavy rain and possible snowfalls on high ground, the Met Office said. It said that, where snow does fall, the high winds are likely to create blizzard conditions.
Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said: "An active jet stream is driving low-pressure systems across the country, both of which are likely to cause some disruption and National Severe Weather Warnings have been issued."
RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said: "The strength of the wind brought about by Storm Dudley will make driving conditions extremely difficult for drivers in the north of the UK, so we urge people to delay their journeys until the storm passes if at all possible.
"Anyone who does set out should stick to major roads if they can, reduce their speed while driving and have a firm grip of the steering wheel at all times but especially when overtaking high-sided vehicles.
"We also recommend parking away from trees as the storm may well cause some to fall."
Mr Dennis said: "It's vital drivers plan ahead and keep tuned to weather forecasts over the next few days to understand where is likely to see the greatest disruption from the weather."
Electricity supply firms have also issued warnings following the widespread outages in northern England and Scotland which followed storms earlier this year.
Here is an hour-by-hour to both storms
Tuesday night
The Met Office forecast for Wales on Tuesday (February 15) says: " Winds increasing again overnight as outbreaks of rain spread east, possibly becoming heavy at times. Then turning drier towards dawn. A rather mild for all. Minimum temperature 6°C.
Wednesday morning
The Met Office forecast for Wales says: " Wednesday will be wet and windy at Storm Dudley crosses the UK. Rain will be heavy at times with gales expected for most. Mild despite the wind and rain. Maximum temperature 13 °C."
Wednesday afternoon
The yellow wind warning that covers a large part of north Wales starts at 3pm.
Storm Dudley is expected to bring wind gusts of up to 80mph-90mph on exposed coasts and hills of Scotland, with 60mph-70mph possible further inland.
The areas in Wales covered by the warning are:
- Ceredigion
- Conwy
- Denbighshire
- Flintshire
- Gwynedd
- Isle of Anglesey
- Powys
- Wrexham.
The Met Office weather map for Wrexham is showing the highest gusts will be around 46mph at 3pm , while in Aberystwyth they will be 57mph around 4pm .
In Cardiff, the Met Office is forecasting gusts of 51mph at 5pm , and 50mph in Newport.
Thursday morning
The Met Office forecast for the whole of Wales says: "Chilly with blustery showers on Thursday."
The yellow weather warning for wind caused by Storm Dudley ends at 6am.
The Met Office weather map for parts of south Wales how that the winds are going to lessen between 3am and 6am, and from midday in north Wales.
Thursday afternoon
Forecasters say winds are expected to ease through Thursday afternoon and evening, before the arrival of the second storm.
Friday
The Met Office forecast for Wales says: "Wet, very windy with possible hill snow on Friday as Storm Eunice arrives."
The storm will track across Wales and central areas of the UK on Friday with further very strong winds expected, with 60mph-70mph gusts possible inland, perhaps even stronger in some places.
The Met office has said that pin-pointing the strongest winds and worst-affected areas is uncertain at the moment.
But the whole of Wales is covered by a wind warning from midnight until 9pm.
The warning says: "Extremely strong winds may develop over southwest early on Friday, before spreading north and east during the morning. It is not yet clear where within the warning area the strongest winds will be but gusts of 60-70 mph are possible over a reasonably large area with a small chance of a brief period of gusts reaching 80 mph even inland.
"Coastal winds are likely to be the strongest. In addition to the wind, there is the potential for a period of snow and perhaps blizzard conditions, most likely over northern England, parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and north Wales. However, this is very dependant on the track of the weather system and most places will see heavy rain instead."
The Met Office weather map for Bangor on Friday shows the highest gust of around 64mph at midday , and in Cardiff the highest gusts at that time of day will be around 60mph.
In Brecon, the highest gusts of around 57mph will be around 9am, and highs of around 58mph will be felt in Swansea between 9am and midday.
Saturday
The Met Office's Deputy Chief Meteorologist Dan Rudman says: "It will be much more settled on Saturday. The bad news is that that's probably just a brief respite before more wintry weather continues after that."
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