Travel chaos blasts across UK as Storm Pia hits, here’s how long the bad weather will last

The UK is set to be battered by wind today, as Storm Pia hits. The Met Office has issued a weather warning covering all of Scotland, Northern Ireland, North Wales, northern England and the Midlands. The warning came into force at midnight and is set to remain until 9pm.

The Met Office has warned that there will be ‘strong winds across a large swathe of the country Thursday, causing some travel disruption’. Recently, Brits were reminded that snow can set drivers up for this stinging £2,500 fine, and now the high winds are causing problems for people on the roads and trains alike. Here’s everything you need to know about Storm Pia’s travel disruption.

Travel chaos

Those travelling from or to Edinburgh today on the TransPennine Express (TPE), have been told ‘do not travel’. They are being ‘strongly’ advised to delay their journey to after 3pm. ScotRail has taken more drastic action, cancelling all trains on seven routes today, including Inverness to Aberdeen, Wick, Kyle of Lochalsh, Dingwall and Elgin; and Glasgow to Oban and Mallaig.

As for drivers, the AA recently announced that tomorrow, Friday 22 December, will be one of the busiest days to travel on the roads. With an estimated 16.1million car journeys taking place, the high winds are likely to cause some travel disruption.

How long the bad weather will last

Forecasters have added that the weather is likely to cause issues with ‘very strong winds and heavy showers’ set to hit large parts of the UK. Though the weather warning is only in place until this evening, the windy conditions are expected to continue into tomorrow, bringing some rain with them from the west.

Met Office chief meteorologist Paul Gundersen said that ‘gusts of 50 to 60mph are possible for large parts of central and northern areas of the UK’:

There's a chance this low pressure will continue to exert its influence into Friday, so it's important to stay up to date with the latest Met Office forecast.

As for the weekend, conditions are expected to remain unsettled, with further wind and rain brought on by Atlantic frontal systems. Any snow will likely be ‘confined to high ground in northern Scotland’. So, yet more bad weather is on the horizon, but the worst of the wind should be over within 24 hours.

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Sources used:

DailyMail: Storm Pia hits the UK: 80mph gales spark rail chaos with trains cancelled and 'do not travel' warnings issued - as Met Office map shows yellow wind alert in place across the country

Met Office