Storm Gerrit: weather warnings in place across borough

Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures

Storm Gerrit has been named by the Met Office, with weather warnings in force across the Rochdale borough from Wednesday (27 December).

Storm Gerrit will bring strong winds and heavy rain to many parts of the UK on Wednesday into Thursday (28 December) with ‘wintry hazards’ also likely.

Yellow warnings for rain and wind are in place across the Rochdale borough until 6pm on Wednesday and 3am on Thursday, respectively.

A flooding alert was issued earlier in the day for the Upper River Irwell catchment area, which covers the rivers Beal and Roch, but levels are falling, according to the measuring station figures. The alert was removed at around 10.47am. An alert is still in place for the Lower River Iwell catchment area, which includes Middleton's Irk.

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.

“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. At lower levels a combination of heavy rain and very strong winds will dominate.”

Met Office warnings highlight the possibility for transport disruption, power cuts and flooding in some areas so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest warnings.

Storm Gerrit will transition gradually to the northeast late on Wednesday and into Thursday.

Further unsettled weather is likely later in the week, with strong winds, rain and some upland snow.

Storm Gerrit will transition gradually to the northeast late on Wednesday and into Thursday. Further unsettled weather is likely later in the week, with strong winds, rain and some upland snow.