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US 'bomb cyclone' to bring wet and windy weather to Kent

09:12, 29 December 2022

updated: 09:14, 29 December 2022

The deadly bomb cyclone that has sent temperatures plunging in the US will cause Kent to experience wet and windy weather, according to the Met Office.

Over the next seven to 10 days the weather will be “unsettled” by the bomb cyclone’s effect on the jet stream, with rain and unusually mild temperatures from Friday until Sunday.

Dover harbour will see gusts of up to 53mph on Friday. Picture: Andy Payton
Dover harbour will see gusts of up to 53mph on Friday. Picture: Andy Payton

Wind will peak along Dover Harbour this Friday with gusts up to 53mph and the weekend will bring heavy rain along with highs of 13°C to the county.

Meteorologist Simon Partridge said the wet and windy weather was being caused by the bomb cyclone across the Atlantic.

“The UK weather is going to remain unsettled with further spells of wet and windy weather due to the strengthening of the jet stream because of the weather in the US,” he said.

He said that the impact would be far less severe here than it had been for people living in America.

“The effect it’s having on the UK is nowhere near as dramatic because that system has brought up a lot of cold air further south, across the US,” he said.

Indeed, the cyclone is only having an effect on the UK due to its impact on the North Atlantic jet stream.

“What effect (the bomb cyclone) has had is to strengthen the jet stream because the jet stream is basically driven by temperature differences," he said.

"So the starker the difference in temperature between the northern edge of it and the southern edge, the stronger the jet stream becomes.”

Into next week Kent will see the temperature dip to lows of 6°C and by Monday the strong winds will have dissipated.

The Met Office has issued warnings that the heavy rain brought on by the phenomenon could cause flooding and disruption to travel.

Mr Partridge explained: “So the knock-on effect is that, like today, we had a spell of wet, windy weather – and there will be further spells of wet and windy weather.”

Thursday is forecast to be colder than Wednesday and there is a risk of hail and thunder.

Mr Partridge said that Thursday will be a “cooler feeling day” but “still rather windy and with showers” across the UK, while Friday to Sunday is forecast to be unsettled, with showers and rain in southern England, and frosts and fog overnight.

He added: “And then on Friday we’ll see another spell of wet, windy weather with milder temperatures and then similar sorts of patterns to that over the next few days.

“So the general sort of knock-on effect of the weather in the US is that in general the UK is going to be a little bit milder than it would normally be at this time of year.”

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