Storm Pia is set to batter Lancashire today, with rain and winds of up to 60mph forecast.

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind, which covers the whole of the county and is in place until 9pm tonight (December 21).

According to the Met Office, strong winds are set to affect all of Lancashire, Blackburn included, and motorists have been warned of travel disruption.

Road, rail, air and ferry transport services mat be affected. Currently, all ferry sailings between Heysham and the Isle of Man have been cancelled.

 

 

The public has also been warned of potential power cuts

There is also a small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur from debris, large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.

In Blackburn, wind speeds are set to reach 45mph, peaking at 1pm.

Rain is also forecast between 1pm and 10pm.

It is a similar picture in Burnley, Pendle, Hyndburn, the Ribble Valley and Rossendale.

Met Office chief meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said: “Strong winds are likely to develop across a large area of the UK.

“We’ve issued a large yellow warning area where there’s a potential for some impacts, but gusts of 50-60mph are possible for large parts of central and northern areas of the UK.

“Exposed coasts and high ground could see gusts of 70-80mph at times, mainly across the far north of Scotland.

“There’s a chance this low pressure will continue to exert its influence into Friday, so it’s important to stay up to date with the latest Met Office forecast. This system has been named Storm Pia by the Danish Met Service, with the system likely to have more severe impacts in Denmark.”

Blackburn’s hour-by-hour weather forecast

  • 9am: Cloudy. 10°C. Wind speed of 43mph.
  • 10am: Cloudy. 10°C. Wind speed of 43mph.
  • 11am: Cloudy. 10°C. Wind speed of 44mph.
  • 12pm: Cloudy. 10°C. Wind speed of 44mph.
  • 1pm: Rain. 9°C. Wind speed of 45mph.
  • 2pm: Heavy rain. 9°C. Wind speed of 45mph.
  • 3pm: Heavy rain. 9°C. Wind speed of 43mph.
  • 4pm: Light rain. 8°C. Wind speed of 43mph.
  • 5pm: Light rain. 8°C. Wind speed of 43mph.
  • 6pm: Light rain. 8°C. Wind speed of 40mph.
  • 7pm: Light rain. 8°C. Wind speed of 38mph.
  • 8pm: Heavy rain. 8°C. Wind speed of 40mph.
  • 9pm: Light rain. 8°C. Wind speed of 38mph.
  • 10pm: Light rain. 8°C. Wind speed of 39mph.
  • 11pm: Cloudy. 8°C. Wind speed of 38mph.