A WEATHER warning is still in place for Bradford as Storm Gerrit touches down today.

The Met Office issued a yellow alert for rain in the city and surrounding areas earlier this week and that warning has remained live. 

It covers West Yorkshire, as well as York and North Yorkshire generally, Sheffield, Nottingham, Manchester, and the north-west of England.

The alert is in place from 3am until 6pm today.

The Met Office said: "Heavy rain brings the potential for disruption to travel and a risk of flooding."

It comes as the UK's latest storm was named yesterday, following on from Storm Pia, which battered Bradford last Thursday, leading to mass disruption, including flights being delayed or cancelled at Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) and a number of trees falling and blocking roads.

Storm Gerrit has been predicted to run towards western UK today, gradually transitioning to the north-east late on Wednesday and into Thursday, according to the Met Office.

Frank Saunders, Met Office Chief Meteorologist, said: “Winds across southern coastal areas of England will be strong, possibly peaking around 70mph on exposed coastlines, but more widely around 50-60mph 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: only briefly for a few upland routes across the Pennines and southern Scotland overnight and early on Wednesday, but more widely to the north of the Central Lowlands later in the day.

"Here around 10 to possibly 20cm of snow may affect some of the highest routes, this combining with very strong winds to lead to some difficult travel conditions.

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

A large amount of yellow weather warnings have been issued by the UK's national weather service in response to the storm.

This includes rain, snow, and wind alerts in much of Scotland, a rain and wind warning in Northern Ireland, wind in the north-west of England and parts of Wales, a rain alert covering most of Wales, and a wind warning stretching across the southern coast of England.

The Met Office said: "Further unsettled weather is likely later in the week, with strong winds, rain and some upland snow."

What to expect in Bradford on Wednesday, according to the Met Office:

  • There is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses
  • There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
  • Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
  • Where flooding occurs, there is a chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services
  • There is a small chance of fast flowing or deep floodwater