Storm Frank heading to Carmarthenshire bringing strong gales and heavy rain

Sky News weather forecaster Nazaneen Ghaffar said: “Tuesday night into Wednesday is the one to watch as an intense low moves towards Iceland, bringing very heavy rain and strong winds from the west across the United Kingdom and Ireland”.

Rain will be heaviest and most persistent over higher ground.

Unprecedented rainfall over the past month will combine with more rain over the next 36 hours, to once again threaten hundreds of homes and businesses.

Storm Frank has been brewing across the Atlantic and is set to hit the country overnight on Tuesday (December 29).

As Storm Frank tracks north of the British Isles, rain and wind will increase across Northern Ireland and Scotland on Tuesday afternoon and evening before spreading to Wales and England into Wednesday.

Flood alerts are in place right across Scotland and motorists are being warned to expect very hard driving conditions.

He said all low-lying areas along the Shannon catchment are at risk of potential flooding.

The floods also affected transport links in the North. Some 16 road closures were in effect in Cumbria, while Northern Rail urged passengers not to travel in Cumbria, East Lancashire and West Yorkshire unless their journey is “absolutely necessary”.

The Met Office has issued amber “be prepared” weather warnings for rain in Strathclyde; Central, Tayside and Fife; Dumfries, Galloway, Lothian and Borders; and North West England for Wednesday. Gusts of 50-60 miles per hour are likely, with some exposed areas seeing gusts approaching 70 miles per hour.

Fianna Fáil’s Environment Spokesperson Barry Cowen says the coalition’s track record proves it can’t be trusted to respond to flood damage.

The Irish Coast Guard has advised the public to stay away from coastal areas, as the storm will bring high seas and drive large waves ashore.

“The warnings associated with the storm will impact on your region somewhat but it doesn’t look too bad compared to further north in areas such as Cumbria”.

The EA said it took this “difficult decision” in “a rapidly moving situation” to reduce flood risk to the residents of York.

A Met Eireann yellow wind warning is in place through Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning across Leinster, and in Cavan, Monaghan, Roscommon, Cork, Limerick, Tipperary and Waterford.

Conditions – including strong wind and heavy rainfall – are so serious that they’ve officially named the storm Frank. “No photograph or selfie is worth risking your life for”.