Plymouth is braced for a weekend of cold temperatures and heavy rain. The Met Office is expecting the mercury to drop to as low as 4C in the city tomorrow (Saturday, January 4) with periods of heavy rainfall also on the radar.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has issued an amber cold health alert and is warning of significant disruption across health and social care services. The alert is in place until 12pm on Wednesday, January 8.
According to the latest Met Office outlook, tomorrow is set to be the coldest day of the weekend. There will also be heavy rain in Plymouth throughout the afternoon.
Conditions will then become milder on Sunday as the mercury returns to double figures. However, there will be steady rainfall throughout the day.
Here is the Met Office hour-by-hour forecast for Plymouth this weekend.
Saturday, January 4
- 6am: Cloudy and 4C.
- 7am: Cloudy and 4C.
- 8am: Cloudy and 4C.
- 9am: Cloudy and 5C.
- 10am: Overcast and 5C.
- 11am: Overcast and 5C.
- 12pm: Overcast and 5C.
- 1pm: Light rain and 5C
- 2pm: Heavy rain and 5C.
- 3pm: Heavy rain and 4C.
- 4pm: Heavy rain and 4C.
- 5pm: Heavy rain and 4C.
- 6pm: Heavy rain and 5C.
- 7pm: Heavy rain and 5C.
- 8pm: Heavy rain and 5C.
- 9pm: Heavy rain and 6C.
- 10pm: Heavy rain and 6C.
Sunday, January 5
Amber cold health alert issued
The UKHSA is warning of significant disruption across health and social care services. The amber cold health alert is in place until 12pm next Wednesday (January 8).
During the cold health alert, the UKHSA has warned that health services could be overwhelmed with demand. There may also be transport disruption due to freezing temperatures.
The disruption may include:
- a rise in deaths, particularly among those aged 65 and over or with health conditions. We may also see impacts on younger age groups
- a likely increase in demand for health services
- temperatures inside places like hospitals, care homes, and clinics dropping below the levels recommended for assessing health risks
- challenges keeping indoor temperatures at the recommended 18°C leading to more risk to vulnerable people
- staffing issues due to external factors (such as travel delays)
- other sectors starting to observe impacts (such as transport and energy)