HEAVY rain and ‘gale force winds’ are set to hit Dorset ahead of a period of unsettled weather.
Dorset and wider South West is currently experiencing a mixture of sunshine and rain spells, with the Met Office forecasting rain and windy weather in the coming days.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind will be in place from 8pm on Thursday (July 29) until 12pm on Friday (July 30).
The weather warning is described as ‘an area of strong to gale force winds are possible and may cause damage to infrastructure and lead to travel disruption.’
The weather alert covers a southern section of Dorset, covering key towns such as Bridport, Dorchester, Bournemouth, Poole, Blandford, Weymouth. A number of key county routes, namely the A31, A35, A37 and A354 are covered by the wind alert.
Coastal gales and gusts of 45-50 mph are possible with between 20mm and 30mm rainfall likely to accompany these strong winds.
A spokesman for Met Office said: “Whilst there remains a lot of uncertainty in the detail at this stage, there is the potential for a swathe of strong winds to arrive in the southwest of England during Thursday evening and then track eastwards along the south coast of England through Friday.
“Winds may reach 55-65mph across the Isles of Scilly and parts of Cornwall late Thursday into Friday morning.
“The strongest winds will then transfer along southern England coasts through Friday morning, weakening as they do so, with coastal gales and gusts of 45-50mph possible.
“Heavy rain will accompany these strong winds, with 20 to 30 mm possible widely, especially across the southwest of England where 40 to 50 mm could fall.”
The weather warning warns of a ‘small chance’ of longer journey times or cancellations as road, rail, air and ferry services are affected by weather, while there is a possibility roads could shut.
There is also a chance that ‘injuries and danger to life could occur’ from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.
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