Liverpool weather: Met Office issues yellow alert as Storm Gerrit brings gales and heavy rain to Merseyside

Weather experts have warned of potential flooding, power cuts and disruption to travel.
Dominic Raynor
By Dominic Raynor
Published 27th Dec 2023, 11:33 BST
Waves created by high winds in Merseyside during Storm Eunice. Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesWaves created by high winds in Merseyside during Storm Eunice. Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
Waves created by high winds in Merseyside during Storm Eunice. Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

The Met Office has issued a yellow alert for Merseyside with Storm Gerrit set to batter many parts of the UK with strong winds of up to 60mph and heavy rains, potentially causing travel disruption and power cuts as well as flooding.

Gales could reach up to 46mph in Liverpool and 51mph in coastal areas such as Southport and parts of the Wirral peninsular. A yellow warning for wind has been put in place from 6pm on Wednesday 27 December to 3am on Thursday morning.

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Formby and parts of Wirral were plunged into darkness due to a mass power cut during Storm Elin earlier in December and the Met Office has once again warned of the chance of outages. The national weather service has also forewarned that injuries from flying debris are possible. Damage to buildings and disruption to travel is also likely.

Heavy rain will hit Merseyside at around 10pm on Wednesday night and will change to light rain by Thursday morning. Strong winds will build over the day and are due to hit their peak in the region around 1am.

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.

People brave the rain and wind of Storm Agnes in Liverpool. Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty ImagesPeople brave the rain and wind of Storm Agnes in Liverpool. Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images
People brave the rain and wind of Storm Agnes in Liverpool. Image: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

“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."

Met Office five-day weather forecast for Liverpool

  • ⚠️ Wednesday, 27 Dec - Yellow weather warning. High 13°C. Low 7°C.
  • ⚠️ Thursday, 28 Dec - Yellow weather warning. High 10°C. Low 7°C.
  • ⛅ Friday, 29 Dec - Clear changing to light rain in the afternoon. High 8°C. Low 5°C.
  • 🌧️ Saturday, 30 Dec - Cloudy changing to heavy rain by late morning. High 10°C. Low 6°C.
  • 🌦️ Sunday, 31 Dec - Cloudy changing to light showers by lunchtime. High 8°C. Low 6°C.
Related topics:LiverpoolMet OfficeHeavy rainDisruption

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