Britons have been warned to brace themselves for “life-threatening” floods and snow. The Met Office has issued an amber alert for heavy rain for rain in parts of Dumfries and Galloway as well as the Scottish Borders.
Weather forecasters are warning people to expect around 40-50mm of rain in the area. Fast-flowing or deep floodwater is also expected which could cause danger to life.
A yellow warning for rain is in place in much of the central belt and southern parts of Scotland.
Yellow warnings for snow and ice are also in place across much of the north of Scotland. Some roads and railways will be affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for icy patches developing across northern Scotland, effective from 9pm today until 11am on Saturday.
Met Office meteorologist Simon Partridge said: “The UK weather is going to remain unsettled with further spells of wet and windy weather due to the strengthening of the jet stream because of the weather in the US.
“The effect it’s having on the UK is nowhere near as dramatic because that system has brought up a lot of cold air further south, across the US.
“Indeed, the cyclone is only having an effect on the UK due to its impact on the North Atlantic jet stream.
“What effect (the bomb cyclone) has had is to strengthen the jet stream, because the jet stream is basically driven by temperature differences.
“So the starker the difference in temperature between the northern edge of it and southern edge, the stronger the jet stream becomes.”
He said the knock-on effect for the UK is spells of wet and windy weather over the next seven to 10 days.
Weather charts show more wind, rain and snow heading towards the UK next month.
Jim Dale, global meteorologist, said: “This looks like a typical, deep Atlantic low pressure system, bringing wintry conditions to Scotland, the north of England and Northern Ireland.
“If it results in what we’re seeing at this moment in time, then there will be blizzards over the Highlands and Grampians. It’s a step back to the wintry conditions we saw before Christmas. It will be colder everywhere.”
He said winds would be gale to severe gale with 50 to 70mph winds across northern areas and maybe 40 to 50mph in the south.
Mr Dale added temperatures for January 8 are tracking towards 0C or maybe lower in the Scottish Highlands with 5C to 6C in other areas, though it will feel colder in the wind in some areas.
On the looming low pressure system, Mr Dale said: “It’s too far away to be certain at this time, but it’s one that needs watching. We’re heading into storm season 2023. This is early days compared to last year’s storm season when we saw six to seven storms in January and February.
“It could be a named storm with the potential for destruction and disruption, but we’ll have to wait and see. It’s early days. It’s not a revisit of the Troll from Trondheim. It’s a typical, deep Atlantic low, tracking to the north of Scotland.”
