Met Office weather maps show exact time 'weather bomb' will hit UK this week

Met Office weather maps show a deep area of low pressure moving into the UK early on Friday morning this week.

The 'powerful' weather system, which is known as a 'weather bomb', will bring heavy rain and strong winds to the parts of the country, according to forecasters.

A yellow weather warning has been issued for Northern Ireland and western Scotland, with wind gusts of up to 80mph expected in the worst-hit areas, likely to be along the coast. Heavy rain and some snow is also expected, which could cause some disruption to areas covered by the warning.

According to the Met Office, a 'very deep' area of low pressure will strengthen when it interacts with a strong jet stream as it moves across the Atlantic, reaching the UK by Friday morning.

The Met Office said the weather system could bring the "strongest winds of the winter so far" and some "potentially disruptive weather". It said "severe gales" are possible in the west of the UK.

Weather maps show the area of low pressure approaching the UK from the west on Thursday evening, with up to 16mm of rain falling in parts of Ireland by midnight, and western areas of the UK also seeing some wet weather.

By 3am, the low pressure system is shown lying to the northwest of the UK, with heavy rain falling in Scotland and much of northern England. It looks set to continue skirting the western edge of the UK, bringing the strongest winds to coastal areas of Scotland.

At 9am on Friday morning, the Met Office is forecasting wind gusts of 78mph on Barra and 77mph on the island of Benbecula, both part of the Outer Hebredes region of Scotland.

Meanwhile, much of the rest of England will see some strong winds throughout Friday with gusts of 42mph in Manchester and 47mph in parts of Wales.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Chris Almond said "Winds will begin to strengthen on Thursday night with the peak gusts forecast through Friday in Northern Ireland and western Scotland. The wind will also be accompanied by heavy rain bringing some unpleasant conditions to end the week."

The change in weather comes as the United States experiences a severe cold weather spell. A large, very cold pool of air over North America is generating a stark contrast in temperatures across the continent. It is this contrast that is set to strengthen the jet stream, with jet stream winds of up to 250mph expected, resulting in the deep low pressure over the UK.

Mr Almond explained: "As the low develops over the Atlantic and interacts with the jet stream it will rapidly strengthen, a phenomenon called ‘explosive cyclogenesis’, where the central pressure of a low at latitudes in which the UK lies drops 24 millibars or more in 24 hours. This is forecast to happen on Thursday while the system is out over the Atlantic and it will be a mature feature by the time it reaches the UK."

When a low pressure system undergoes explosive cyclogenesis, it is called a 'weather bomb'. Weather bombs can bring winds that peak over a period of a few hours and can be strong enough to bring down trees and cause structural damage, according to the Met Office.

The yellow weather warning for wind covers west Scotland and Northern Ireland and will be in place from midnight on Friday until midday on Saturday. The weather warning states: "A deep area of low pressure is expected to pass close to or across the northwest of the UK on Friday and Saturday. It will bring a spell of very strong southeasterly to southwesterly winds with gusts reaching 50 to 60mph inland and 70 to 80mph along coasts (and perhaps higher than this in a few locations). The wind strength will gradually ease through Saturday from the south."