The Met Office has said it is unlikely that the latest winter storm sweeping the country will be as bad as its predecessor, Storm Arwen.

More than 100,000 homes in communities in the north of Scotland found themselves without power, some for more than a week, following Storm Arwen.

Forecasters have warned that during Storm Barra, gusts of up to 60-70mph and as much as 20cm of snow in some places can be expected.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicky Maxey said: “We are not expecting the impacts of Barra to be as bad as we saw with Arwen.

“Storm Barra will bring strong winds and heavy rainfall to many parts of the UK today.

“We may see some snow on the higher ground, too.

“It is unlikely to be as impactful as Storm Arwen last week but there will be blustery conditions so people should still be prepared.”

Transport across the country is already severely disrupted with numerous rail and ferry services cancelled or delayed, as well as delays expected on roads.

Scots have been advised not to travel unless necessary. 

On Sunday, Scottish and Southern Energy Networks (SSEN) announced that power had been restored to all homes following Storm Arwen.

In total, 135,000 homes in the north of Scotland were impacted by the ‘once in a lifetime’ weather event.

Mark Rough, Director of Operations for SSEN, said: “In the 35 years that I have worked for SSEN, I can honestly say that this is the worst storm I have ever experienced. The extensive damage caused to our network by Storm Arwen has been unprecedented in some areas, with the North East region experiencing the equivalent of almost two years’ worth of overhead line faults in just one 12-hour period.”

However, hundreds of households in the North East of England remain without electricity following Storm Arwen.

Northern Powergrid said it is in “the final push” to reconnect 500 customers who remained without power on Tuesday morning.

Downing Street has said it is “unacceptable” that some homes remain without power following Storm Arwen.

He added: “It’s obviously unacceptable that these homes, these families are without power, we’ve seen the situation improve but that will not be of help to those who are still facing this challenge.

“We need to learn the lessons for the future and make sure that we have better resilience against storms of this kind.

“We haven’t seen a storm as violent as Storm Arwen for a long time. It’s likely to happen again, we have got to make sure that we protect people against it.”

Heavy snow is expected across parts of Scotland and northern England from late on Tuesday morning, the Met Office said, although mostly between the Scottish Highlands and the Pennines.

The lowest temperature overnight was in Aboyne, on the edge of the Highlands near Aberdeen, which saw a low of minus 3.8C (25.2F).

The heaviest rain on Tuesday morning was near Launceston in north Cornwall, which saw 14mm (0.6in) fall in three hours from 7am.

Yellow wind warnings are in place across much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, although the west of Ireland will receive the worst of the storm on Tuesday.

There are further weather warnings in place across Northern Ireland and the South West of England into Wednesday.

The Environment Agency had five flood warnings in place as of 11am on Tuesday, meaning flooding is expected.

They are along the south coast of England between Dorset and Hampshire, in Christchurch, Beaulieu, Fareham, and Langstone and Emsworth, and along the Essex coast at Coalhouse Fort.

There are nearly 40 flood alerts also in place, meaning flooding is possible.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the country had to be better prepared for extreme storms.

He told reporters: “We need to learn the lessons for the future and make sure that we have better resilience against storms of this kind.

“We haven’t seen a storm as violent as Storm Arwen for a long time. It’s likely to happen again, we have got to make sure that we protect people against it.”