Shoppers maybe wishing for a white Christmas but the weather is more likely to deliver high winds and torrential rain as forecasters predict a stormy run-up to the festive period.
Another "super-storm", dubbed "Emily" by the headline-grabbers at the Weather Channel, is out in the far west of the Atlantic, but is expected to reach Britain by Thursday, and lash us with rain and gale force winds throughout the end of the week.
The Met Office had already issued a yellow weather warning for today, as up to two inches of heavy rain was expected to hit the southern areas of the West Country overnight and today.
The next few days are expected to calm down a bit, before "Storm Emily" hits on Thursday, the 165th anniversary of the death of Wuthering Heights author Emily Bronte.
Met Office forecasters like the West's own Ian Fergusson said yesterday that it was too early to tell exactly what path the storm would take as it reached northern Europe, but there would be "for sure some decidedly wet and very windy phases, but it's too early for detail".
The Met Office issued an early weather warning based on its own long-range predictions that the storm would mainly hit Northern Ireland and north west Scotland, but even if the 100mph winds that the storm is forecast to contain were 400 miles away to the north, the West Country could still be battered by 70mph winds.
Weather Channel meteorologist Leon Brown said: "From Thursday to Christmas there is a high risk of gales. At the moment there is a 30-40 per cent risk of severe gales for central and southern Britain on Thursday.
"The worst case is 70 to 90mph gusts across exposed parts of Wales and the south, but even 70mph gusts for central Britain would cause a lot of disruption," he added.
Store bosses will be the ones with their fingers crossed most tightly that the weather is not as bad as some are forecasting in the last few days before Christmas. This Saturday is expected to be the busiest in the High Street, with shoppers heading out for last-minute bargains.
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