The Met Office has ramped up its weather warnings for the weekend, issuing “danger to life” amber alerts across parts of the UK.
Forecasters predict “very heavy rain, flooding and travel disruption” in the north of England, Wales and the southwest over the weekend with Storm Dennis set to sweep the country.
The amber warnings will come into force at 3pm on Saturday and last for 24 hours.
Brits are urged to be on guard with “fast flowing or deep floodwater” considered “likely”, along with power cuts, damage to buildings and issues across transport networks.
It comes after snow and ice has blighted northern parts of the country. Scotland saw its coldest night of the year so far on Wednesday, with -10.2C recorded in Braemar, Aberdeenshire.
The rest of Britain will continue to be hit by harsh conditions over the weekend, with yellow warnings for wind and rain spanning from southern England all the way up to Glasgow.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said Storm Dennis is expected to pummel the country with severe gales and heavy rain on Saturday, which is set to be “the most hazardous day”.
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However, he said, despite the strong winds the new storm is set to be a touch milder than Ciara, which battered the country last weekend with gusts of up to 97mph.
Dennis will hit exposed spots with wind speeds of between 60 and 70mph, he said, adding: “The unsettled weather won’t subside massively any time soon”.
The weekend’s weather runs the risk of bringing further flooding to parts of the country, with the Environment Agency urging people “to stay safe and remain vigilant”.
It has also warned people against taking “dangerous” so-called storm selfies.
