United Kingdom braces for bout with blizzard windstorm

December 5, 2011 – LONDON – Heavy rain and gale force winds have already wreaked havoc over Scotland, Northern Ireland, and parts of England but now the December daemon, snow, is here causing more problems. Snow and ice are affecting roads across Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of Northern England. The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for these areas and police are urging motorists to be aware of the risk of black ice on the roads. In Northern Ireland showers have been most frequent over counties Londonderry, Antrim, Tyrone, Fermanagh as well as in north Down. Meanwhile in Scotland the A9 and the M74 have been badly affected. The whole of the A9 is badly affected by snow and ice, especially at Helmsdale, Dalwhinnie and Badenoch. Motorists on the M74 in South Lanarkshire were stuck for three hours southbound after a lorry jackknifed in the snow. Motorists are being urged to plan their journeys, listen to police advice and be aware of travel updates. –4RFV.uk 

Swinton, the UK’s leading high street retailer of home insurance, is warning homeowners across the UK to prepare for gale force winds and heavy rain. Scotland is the first to get hit by the storm and it’s expected to move further south to England. Swinton is encouraging homeowners to be prepared and take necessary action so not to get caught out by the bad weather. Homeowners need to check their buildings insurance policies to ensure they are covered for storm and accidental damage as they could be left with a hefty repair bill. –Market Watch

Gale-force wind warning in the Philippines: Manila, Philippines – Rains loom over most parts of the country due to the diffused tail-end of a cold front prevailing over Southern Luzon, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) said yesterday. PAGASA said the weather system will bring mostly cloudy skies with scattered rain showers and thunderstorms in Metro Manila, Southern Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. The rest of Luzon will be partly cloudy to cloudy with isolated light rains. PAGASA issued a gale warning due to strong to gale force winds from the surge of the northeasterly surface wind-flow, also called the “hanging amihan” or northeast monsoon. It warned fishing boats and other small sea-craft not to venture out into the sea, particularly the coasts of Luzon, because of rough to very rough seas. –Tempo