Salford weather is expected to be stormy and unpredictable this weekend, with as much as four inches of rain falling.
Met Office officials have upgraded a weather alert in the North West from yellow ‘be alert’ to amber ‘be prepared’ as the tail end of Storm Abigail batters the region with high winds and heavy rain.
From around 3pm on Saturday to 10pm on Sunday as much as 10cm of rain could fall, say forecasters.
A slow-moving frontal system is expected to hit the North West bringing heavy and persistent rainfall.
Flooding is possible on already saturated ground, and in rivers where levels have remained high after large amounts of rainfall over the past few days.
Levels remain high in the River Irwell in Salford – @NatureinSalford
Officials have issued specific warnings to drivers about the dangers of surface spray on the M60 and M62.
Drivers are being advised to keep head lights on and reduce their normal speed to avoid any chance of a collision.
The wind may also bring the possibility that vehicles could drift into other lanes.
Motorways around Salford are expected to be especially busy this weekend as tourists flood into the Manchester Christmas Markets, which open on Saturday 14 November.
UNICEF’s Match for Children kicks off at 3pm at Old Trafford on Saturday, as well as a new ‘Ideal Homes’ exhibition opening at Event City, so the M62, M60 and M602 will be unusually busy.
The exhibition closes at 5pm, the same time as the UNICEF match, meaning demand on Junction 9 of the M60 is expected to be high.
With the air pressure dropping on Friday night, locals are expected to wake up on Saturday to chilly temperatures of around 4°C with the rain constantly pouring and the wind speed gradually getting stronger.
From 3pm onwards on Saturday a yellow weather warning has been put in place across the Greater Manchester and Salford area.
The Chief Forecaster at the Met Office explained: ”Many parts of the warning area are likely to see 70-100 mm of rain, with some of the more exposed parts of north Wales and northwest England possibly seeing as much as 150-200 mm through the period.”
The yellow weather warning for Salford and Greater Manchester is set to last until the early hours of Monday morning.
After Saturday night wind speeds are expected to drop to an average of 17mph, with a few drier spells.
However there could be possible delays on the roads due to the floods that are expected.
Throughout Monday night the rain will stop will but return later in the day.
The rain expected to return later in the week but temperatures will average out at around 7°C – 10°C.
Tonight however the rain will ease for a few hours, with some clear spells across the region, staying windy and chilly for most.
