“Storm Bert marks a shift to much milder air and wintry hazards will gradually diminish through the weekend, but heavy snowfall is expected across parts of northern England and Scotland for a time on Saturday, especially over higher ground, and warnings are in place,” Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Dan Holley said.

The Met Office has predicted that Storm Bert will bring snow, ice, wind and rain to large parts of the UK, issuing yellow and amber weather warnings to most parts of the country

THE Met Office has activated nine weather warnings, including two amber warnings, as Storm Bert batters the nation. Virtually every area of the country is covered by alerts for snow, rain or ice.

Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said the arrival of Storm Bert is coming after a "relatively quiet" night on Friday, which saw the mercury drop to around minus 4C across parts of Scotland, while it dropped to minus 1C in eastern England.

Strong southerly winds will accompany the heavy rain, and warnings are in place in both the south and north. Gusts could peak at 50-60 mph in many parts of the warning areas, and could even reach in excess of 70 mph along some exposed coasts of Northern Ireland and western Scotland.

Northern England and Scotland were next on Bert’s itinerary, with forecasters saying the storm arrived at 6am. Four hours or so later, and the snow being spat out by Bert will t