Yellow warning for North West England

A spell of very strong winds is expected to affect Greater Manchester between 12noon on Friday 8 February and 6pm Saturday 9 February.

A deep area of low pressure is expected to track across northern Britain later on Friday and through early Saturday. Southwesterly winds will strengthen through Friday. Gales will become widespread later on Friday, persisting well into Saturday whilst becoming more westerly.

Whilst some places may miss the worst of the winds, inland gusts of 50 mph are expected quite widely, with some places having gusts in excess of 60 mph, more especially across the north of the warning area on Saturday.

Gusts of up to 70 mph are likely around some coasts exposed to the west or southwest. Winds will gradually ease on Saturday, with the strongest winds becoming confined to Scotland on Saturday afternoon. These winds will lead to large waves affecting coasts and the possibility of waves overtopping some coastal routes, especially in the west and south of the warning area.

In addition, bands of heavy rain sweeping eastwards on Friday in particular will present an additional hazard.