Summary

  • The first minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, says the impact of Storm Bert is "absolutely devastating"

  • She tells the BBC the "severity and frequency of these events is something we need to be aware of"

  • A body has been found in the search for a missing 75-year-old dog walker in Trefriw, North Wales

  • More than 150 flood warnings are in place across the UK as Natural Resources Wales has issued two severe flood warnings in Monmouthshire, in the south-east of the country

Live Reporting

Edited by Matt Spivey

  1. My bakery was hit by Storm Babet, now it's flooded from Storm Bert

    Rebecca Mullen, with a thick black coat on and grey hood, is stood in front of two fire engines and five emergency workers - one who is holding a broomPA Media

    A bakery in Cork in the Irish Republic has flooded for the second time, after Storm Babet caused significant damage last October.

    Rebecca Mullen, who owns The Flour House bakery in Riverstock, says it's important small businesses can survive weather systems. Last year the bakery received grants from the Red Cross to help fix damage caused by Storm Babet.

    "Without those grants we really wouldn't have a business today," she tells PA news agency.

    "Saturday is one of our busiest days, we've already had to cancel a market because of the weather system, so now we've obviously had to shut the shop today, so we'll be losing money there.

    "I've done deliveries of cakes today where I can to the people who have ordered, but now it's the clean up, its the cost of getting the staff back in, extra hours, working out what is salvageable and what isn't, she says.

    Red rain warnings were in place for Cork and Galway until 10:00 on Saturday.

  2. Search and rescue operation under way in Devon
    Breaking

    Devon and Cornwall Police say emergency services are currently at the river in Sidmouth, after members of the public reported "concerns about an object seen in the water".

    The police say a "multi-agency search and rescue operation" is under way.

    Officers urged people "not to attend the area while the operation is ongoing, as weather conditions are adverse".

  3. Homeowners in Wales face flooding as 70mph gusts expected

    Homeowners in Wales are facing flooding as Storm Bert brings rain, winds and rising waters.

    Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has issued a series of flood warnings and alerts across the country, as bridges are shut and roads closed.

    Over the weekend, Wales is expected to face up to 75mm of rain widely, with 150 mm possible in some areas. Gusts of 70mph are expected to hit coastal areas.

    The Met Office has warned heavy rain is likely to cause travel disruption and flooding, particularly across south Wales.

    NRW has issued flood warnings - where flooding is expected, and immediate action is required - on four stretches of river. It has also issued alerts - where flooding is possible - for more than 30 areas across Wales.

  4. In pictures: Storm Bert snow hits Scotland

    Staff clear snow from the pitch with shovels. One member of staff wheels away snow in a wheelbarrow.SNS

    Grounds staff clear snow from the pitch at St Mirren in Paisley ahead of the club's match against Aberdeen.

    A row of buses lined up in the city centre. It is snowing heavily.Victoria E/BBC Weather Watchers

    Edinburgh city centre earlier on Saturday in a picture by BBC Weather Watcher Victoria E.

    A man and a woman are smiling as they stand next to a snowman.Juliet Butler

    A snowman with Arthurs Seat and Edinburgh Castle in the background.

    Sheep in a field next to a rural road with tracks through the snow.Rockdoc/BBC Weather Watchers

    A wintry scene in Elsrickle, South Lanarkshire.

    A collie dog runs through deep snow.Alan Black

    Alan Black's action shot taken at Huntly.

    Gareth is wearing a hat and winter clothing. He is holding ski poles and skis on his feet.

    Gareth Pocock from Bowden near Melrose off for a cross country ski around the Eildon Hills.

  5. Amber warning for snow and ice in eastern Scotland cancelled

    Shopper on soggy Princes StreetReuters

    The weather warning in the east of Scotland has been cancelled.

    As Storm Bert continues to evolve and move across the UK, the weather warnings have been updated.

    The amber warning for eastern Scotland has now been cancelled.

    It had been due to run until 17:00.

    The threat of snow and ice has melted away as warmer air moves in from the south.

    The snow has eased and is increasingly turning to rain.

  6. Scottish premiership matches delayed due to Storm Bert

    Football covered by snowSNS

    Wintry weather has resulted in a spate of cancellations across the Scottish Professional Football League.

    All six of Saturday's Premiership matches are scheduled to go ahead, although there will be a delay at Ibrox.

    Rangers have announced a 15:45 start against Dundee United, which is down to the "expected late arrival" of the visitors.

    The meeting of St Johnstone and Kilmarnock has been delayed until 15:15, while the game between St Mirren and Aberdeen has been pushed back to a provisional 16:00 kick off, pending a 15:00 inspection.

    For details of all the other matches affected in Scotland click here.

  7. Hundreds of train journeys cancelled across the UK

    A train departs from Waverley Station through the snowfall during Storm Bert in EdinburghReuters

    A train departs from Waverley Station through the snowfall during Storm Bert in Edinburgh

    • Northern Rail warns of "significant disruption" to services in the North West and Cumbria on Sunday. The train service has cancelled 339 journeys throughout the weekend
    • Avanti West Coast has cancelled services north of Preston
    • ScotRail has suspended journeys between Aberdeen and Inverurie
    • Transpennine Express has cancelled services between Oxenholme Lake District and Penrith North Lakes and Carlisle to Edinburgh and Glasgow
    • Transport for Wales has closed train lines between Llandudno and Blaenau Ffestiniog, Swansea and Shrewsbury and Shrewsbury and Wrexham General

  8. 'Worst of the weather yet to arrive' - power network industry body

    As Storm Bert continues to make its way across the UK, thousands of households in south and west Wales, the East and West Midlands and Cumbria are experiencing power cuts.

    A spokesman for the Energy Networks Association (ENA), which represents the UK's energy networks, says the outages have been "localised" so far but warns the situation might change as the worst of the weather is "yet to arrive".

    "There are a few localised weather-related power cuts in parts of Britain this morning. However, for most parts of the country the severe weather hasn't yet had a significant impact," says Ross Easton.

    "Forecasters are describing this as a 'multi-hazard event' with the worst of the weather yet to arrive, and so our members have extra engineers and contact centre teams available, and control rooms are monitoring the storm closely as it develops."

  9. Man dies after tree falls on his car in Hampshire - police
    Breaking

    A man in his 60s has died in Hampshire after a tree fell on his car during Storm Bert.

    The incident happened on the A34 southbound carriageway, between Kings Worthy and Winnall, before 08:00 this morning. The man, who was driving a black Mercedes E350 was confirmed dead at the scene.

    His family have been informed. A silver Skoda Kodiaq was also damaged but no other injuries were reported.

    Lengthy lane closures have been in place while emergency services work at the scene and Hampshire police have called on people with information or dash cam footage to come forward.

  10. Flood warning and alerts rise to 100 across UK

    As we've been reporting, Storm Bert is causing flooding and power cuts across the UK - the number of flood warnings and alerts has now risen to over 100 across England, Scotland and Wales.

    BBC Weather says there is currently 73 flood warning and alerts in place in England, 7 across Scotland and 34 in Wales.

    Flood warnings mean that flooding is expected, with immediate action required. While flood alerts mean that flooding is possible, as people are warned to be prepared.

    In England, flood warning are in place in Todmorden, West Yorkshire and Irwell Vale in Lancashire - as well as other parts of northern England.

    In Scotland, a flood warning urging people to "act now" is in place for the Churchill Barriers in Orkney.

    In Wales, flooding is expected in properties inPontargothi andPontynyswen in Carmarthenshire, West Wales, as well as the town of Ammanford in the same county.

  11. Edinburgh's buses grind to a halt as weather takes grip

    Lothian Buses have suspended its services

    Lothian Buses has suspended its services

    As we reported earlier Lothian Buses has had to suspend its services in Edinburgh and surrounding areas due to the weather.

    The operator says it's working hard to get services back up and running. Its website and app services crashed as the scale of the travel problems became apparent.

    Lothian Buses is the largest municipal bus operator in UK, with more than 700 buses operating on more than 70 routes.

    Photos taken across the city show the challenges drivers faced earlier.

    Snow man in front of a bus

    Lothian Buses has suspended its services in Edinburgh

    Scotland's capitol may look stunning under snow but it's no day for sitting outside on the tour buses

    Tour bus in the snow on Princess Street in the shadow of Edinburgh CastleReuters

    Here's a snowy tour bus on Princes Street in Edinburgh

  12. More football cancellations and postponements

    Sweeping of snow at St Mirren

    St Mirren appear to be playing a number of sweepers this afternoon

    The weather continues to disrupt football.

    Rangers kick-off has been pushed back to 3:45pm – due to the ‘expected late arrival’ of Dundee United.

    The latest club to announce the postponement of a match is Peterhead FC.

    The club apologised to all its fans who made the journey or are currently travelling down to Forfar.

    St Mirren have been making strenuous efforts to get the pitch clear as you can see from the photo.

    Check here for more postponements.

  13. Storm Bert brings 82mph gusts and heavy rain to Wales

    Storm Bert is causing disruption across Wales, with weather warnings in place for high winds and heavy rain on Saturday and Sunday.

    The Met Office said wind gusts of 82mph (130km/hr) had been recorded at Capel Curig in Conwy county, with gusts of up to 60mph (96km/hr) expected inland and up to 70mph (113km/hr) in coastal areas.

    The National Grid said about 1,300 properties were without power in south and west Wales.

    Natural Resources Wales issued a flood warning in Carmarthenshire, and said properties in Ammanford, Llandybie and Aberlash, adjacent to the river Loughor, could be affected.

  14. Storm Bert: The headlines

    As snow warnings turn into fears of flooding across parts of the UK, now seems like a good time to take stock of Storm Bert.

    Here's the latest updates:

    • Heavy rain, strong winds and further snow have arrived thanks to Storm Bert and the fear of floods is on the rise
    • There are flood warnings in place in Wales, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland
    • The storm has been described as a multi-hazard event, with snow followed by warm air moving northwards which will see some high winds
    • Roads are affected by deep snow, particularly over higher routes, and some rural communities might be cut off
    • The Queensferry Crossing across the Firth of Forth is closed due to threat of falling ice, however the M74 has reopened
    • Power cuts are quite likely in places as the snow will come down in big wet chunky flakes - more than 60,000 homes were left without supplies in the Republic of Ireland.
    • Nearly 3,000 buildings are without power in England and Wales
    • The best advice remains stay at home if you can

    Stick with our live page as our correspondents bring you the latest impact of Storm Bert across the UK.

    Edinburgh Castle and the National Galleries seen from the east with heavy snow everywhereReuters

    Heavy snow in Edinburgh has led to the suspension of the city's bus services

  15. Families 'trapped inside their homes' as Storm Bert triggers flooding

    We've heard from BBC News reporter Linzi Lima who is just outside Belfast as firefighters pump out water from homes that flooded overnight.

    She says around 12 houses in Dundonald have been affected and residents are "trapped inside" their homes.

    "The mother of one man I spoke to this morning said her son had woken up and went down to see around two to three feet of water in his home this morning,” Lima says. “The fridge was floating around the kitchen."

    A fire engine parked in deep brown water with a fireman working at the back of the engine. They are in a a narrow residential street beside a parked white SUV and some terraced houses.

    A number of houses have been flooded in Dundonald, on the outskirts of Belfast

  16. Football: Inverness match off after team make 245-mile journey

    Steven McKenzie
    BBC Scotland Highlands and Islands reporter

    The map shows mainland Scotland and the locations of Inverness and Dumfries

    Inverness Caledonian Thistle's match against Queen of the South has been called off after the Highland club made the 245-mile trip south to Dumfries.

    The League 1 game has been postponed following a pitch inspection.

    The Inverness team travelled down for the match on Friday.

    Queen of the South said: "The pitch was playable this morning but after heavy rain and frozen temperatures under the pitch affecting drainage the pitch is now water logged."

    All men's and women's premier league games are scheduled to go ahead.

    But the weather has affected other Scottish football games:

    Scottish Championship

    Airdrieonians P-P Livingston

    Morton P-P Partick Thistle

    Scottish League 1

    Alloa Athletic P-P Dumbarton

    Kelty Hearts P-P Arbroath

    Queen of the South P-P Inverness CT

    Scottish League 2

    Bonnyrigg Rose P-P Stirling Albion

    Elgin City P-P Clyde

    Spartans P-P Stranraer

    Five games are also off in the Highland League.

    Return to the latest post

  17. What weather warnings are in place?

    The Met Office has issued a number of yellow and amber warnings across the UK as Storm Bert brings heavy rain, snow and strong winds. These are prone to change across the day and into tomorrow.

    Here's a look at the latest alerts:

    • 05:00 Saturday to 17:00 Saturday: Yellow - wind gusts could reach up to 60mph in parts of Scotland, including Central, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, Highlands and Strathclyde
    • 07:00 Saturday to 17:00 Saturday: Amber - heavy snow is expected in parts of Scotland, including in Central, Tayside, Fife, Grampian, Highlands and Strathclyde
    • 04:00 Saturday to 09:00 Sunday: Yellow - heavy snow on Saturday, followed by a rapid thaw and rain on Saturday night in parts of Scotland and north-west, north-east, West Midlands, East Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humber in England
    • 06:00 Saturday to 06:00 Sunday: Yellow - heavy rain is likely to cause some travel disruption and flooding in parts of Wales and the West Midlands
    • 06:00 Saturday to 23:45 Sunday: Yellow - Heavy rain may cause travel disruption and flooding this weekend in London, West Midlands, south-east and south-west England
    • 09:00 Saturday to 21:00 Sunday: Strong winds are likely to cause dangerous coastal conditions and disruption in parts of Wales, London and south-east and south-west England

  18. Six regional flood alerts in Scotland

    Storm Bert has brought a combination of heavy rain and snowmelt across parts of Dumfries and Galloway, west Borders, Central, Tayside, Aberdeenshire and Dundee and Angus regions.

    Regional Flood Alerts are in place.

    River and surface water flooding may cause travel disruption, difficult driving conditions and localised flooding impacts this afternoon and into Sunday.

    For the latest flooding information, visit http://sepa.scot/flooding.

  19. Scotland grapples with 'ferocious' winds as 105mph gust recorded

    Chris Fawkes
    BBC Weather presenter

    The winds from storm Bert have strengthened in recent hours with a top gust of 82mph recorded at Capel Curig (Conwy) and 75mph at Needles, an exposed site on the western tip of the Isle of Wight.

    Head to the mountains of Scotland, and the winds have been even more ferocious with a gust of 105mph (1245m above sea level) over the tops of the Cairngorms with blizzard conditions.

    The winds have been affecting transport with some ferry and rail services cancelled.

    The snow has also been causing some significant transport disruption.

    Over recent hours snow has been turning back to rain in northern England where the worst of the conditions have now passed. In many areas southern Scotland and the Central Belt heavy snow is giving way to sleet.

    However, the Met Office Amber weather warning for snow in northern Scotland remains in force until 5pm, and further disruptive snow is expected.

    The first floodwarnings have now been issued in Scotland, England and Wales. Heavy rain will continue to accumulate hour by hour, especially over the hills of Wales and southwest England with the risk of flooding problems increasing through the rest of today, tonight and into tomorrow.

    The snow from storm Bert may well be giving way to rain for many, but the threat of disruption from this multi-hazard storm is far from over.

  20. Traffic problems across Scotland despite travel warnings

    Traffic has built up in cities and on major routes across the central belt and southern Scotland, despite police warnings not to travel "unless absolutely necessary".

    Two of the main routes south - the M74 and A68 - were closed for a time thanks to accidents.

    Traffic has been at a standstill in bad conditions on the M80 near Castlecary, North Lanarkshire, Scotland.

    A view from a car of a hugs traffic jam in snowy conditions where a sliproad meets the M80 motorway. All the cars are showing their break lights.PA Media

    The M80 at Castlecary has seen heavy traffic at a standstill