A flurry of fresh weather warnings for snow, wind and rain have been issued for Sunday as Storm Eowyn continues to batter the UK and Ireland.
Flights were cancelled, major rail routes closed and ferry services axed on Saturday after winds surpassing 100mph hit parts of Britain throughout Friday. Millions were left without power due to the vicious storm.
A rare red weather warning was lifted on Friday from Scotland and Northern Ireland, where Storm Eowyn damaged buildings, uprooted trees and caused power cuts.
But the Met Office has now issued weather warnings through until Tuesday, with a new low-pressure system set to take hold over the weekend, moving in from the southwest as Storm Eowyn passes.
A fresh warning for snow and ice came into effect at 6pm on Saturday, covering much of Scotland and also Northern Ireland, lasting until 10am on Sunday.
Forecasters are warning of flying debris resulting in danger to life, and travel disruption including flight cancellations are set to continue in areas affected by weather warnings.
There may also be further power cuts and continued damage to buildings and homes, the forecaster added.
As the influence of Storm Eowyn diminishes, an area of low pressure arriving from the southwest will bring significant rain on Sunday, the Met Office says.
A yellow rain warning covering southern and central England and Wales will be in place from 8am on Sunday to 6am on Monday.
Some places could see up to 80mm of rainfall over the period from two separate spells of heavy rain and thundery showers, while 10 to 20mm should fall quite widely and 30 to 50mm could fall over high ground, the Met Office said.
Flooding to homes and businesses could occur in the warning area, with power cuts and difficult driving conditions also possible. There is also a “small chance” of fast-flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life, the Met Office said.
Up to 20mm of rain is expected to fall widely on Sunday in areas under a yellow rain warning, which will cover most of the Midlands, Wales and southern England, from 8am on Sunday until 6am on Monday. Flooding, travel disruption and power cuts are possible in the affected areas, with up to 80mm possible in some locations overnight.
Another yellow wind warning will also be introduced for southwest and northwest England, Wales and southwestern Scotland, lasting from 8am until 3pm on Sunday. A new warning in Northern Ireland from 10am until 7pm warns of gusts reaching up to 60 mph.
Met Office meteorologist Jonathan Vautrey said: “Looking at Sunday, it’s set to be a fairly fine start for a lot of areas – another ridge of high-pressure building in to keep things fairly settled, with some sunny spells in there.
“The cloud, though, is going to be building as we see a low-pressure system move into the South West. This will be bringing heavy rain in for south-west England and Wales from sort of mid-morning onwards, and then that will spread into Northern Ireland and northern England as we head later on into the afternoon.
“Winds will also be picking up with this feature. Certainly, it’s not going to be as strong as Storm Eowyn. However, because it’s coming in from the South West, it’s going to be actually more southern areas of England that are going to see the strongest wind gusts compared to what has mostly been further towards the north.”
The start of next week will bring little respite for those in the south. A yellow warning has now been listed for heavy rain on Monday – from 6am until midnight – that could bring “some disruption and flooding” in the West Midlands and much of Wales.
A further warning for powerful and potentially disruptive winds – stretching across southern England and much of Wales – will now be in force from 6am on Monday until 6am on Tuesday.
