Preston and Lancashire is set for a wild 48-hour period from Thursday as the Met Office has two weather warnings in place.

A yellow weather warning is in force for strong winds during Thursday (5 December) afternoon and overnight into Friday.

The city is due to see wind speeds reach up to 50mph between 4pm onwards on Thursday before the weather eases on Friday morning. A heavy rain warning has also now been added for Thursday afternoon.

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A separate warning for Friday (6 December) and throughout Saturday and early Sunday is then in force for strong winds and heavy rain.

Heavy downpours are expected during Friday late afternoon and overnight into Saturday with stormy conditions – although wind speeds will have dropped considerably since Thursday afternoon.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist, Chris Bulmer, said: “At this time is looks like the unsettled conditions will continue into the weekend with a deep low-pressure system probably crossing the UK into Saturday bringing strong winds and rain to some areas. Weather warnings will be issued as the details of the developments and hazards become clearer.

“Given the potential for disruption from this system it is important to keep up to date with the latest forecast.”

The unsettled weather follows Storm Bert in late November which caused significant disruption to the rail network with many services terminating at Preston Railway Station.

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