Storm Dudley and Eunice in Manchester: Met Office weather forecast for rain, snow and blustery conditions

More wet and miserable weather is on the way to Manchester this week, with weather warnings issued across much of the north of England for Storm Dudley and Storm Eunice.

After a wet weekend, Greater Manchester has seen little let up in the downpours and that appears set to continue. A blast of wet and windy weather hit the city-region Wednesday and a yellow warning for strong winds in the North West remained in place on Thursday for Manchester.

Thursday has been a somewhat drier day with a mix of lighter showers, peaking at 8C, but with a continued warning for strong winds in Manchester.

But the heavy rain is predicted to return by Friday morning rush-hour with “very strong winds” from 5am and “the potential for snow” forecast for Friday in some areas of the North West and Midlands.

As Storm Eunice moves in on Friday, another high winds warning has been put in place from midnight to 9pm. There have also been warnings for possible flying debris and challenging travel conditions as winds get up to 60mph in the city-region.

Travel advice

People are advised to take care and plan extra time for essential travel. Greater Manchester Resilience Forum has asked people only to travel if really necessary.

National Highways Head of Road Safety Jeremy Phillips said: “We’re encouraging drivers to check the latest weather and travel conditions before setting off on journeys and consider if their journey is necessary and can be delayed until conditions improve. If you do intend to travel, then plan your journey and take extra care, allowing more time for your journey.

“In high winds, there’s a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes so we’d advise drivers of these vehicles to slow down.

“Drivers of other vehicles should be aware of sudden gusts of wind which can affect handling and braking, and give high-sided vehicles, caravans, and motorbikes plenty of space. In the event of persistent high winds we may need to close bridges to traffic for a period, so please be alert for warnings of closures and follow signed diversion routes.”

Avanti warned on Wednesday afternoon that anyone planning to travel north of Preston on the West Coast mainline should expect delays with speed limits being imposed after 4pm on Scotland-bound services.