The Met Office has named the latest storm, which is anticipated to bring four days of wind and rain to the UK. Storm Darragh has been named and is expected to bring gusts of up to 80mph on Friday and into Saturday.
An amber warning for “danger to life” winds is in place for the west coast of the UK from South Ayrshire in Scotland down to Cornwall, as well as in Northern Ireland. It is in place on Saturday from 3am until 9pm. The warning does not include Bristol but parts of Somerset as well as the whole of Devon and Cornwall are due to be affected.
A separate yellow warning for wind has been issued for much of England, Wales and southern Scotland from 3pm on Friday until 6am on Sunday. Today, Thursday, December 5, strong wind is expected to hit Bristol and North Somerset.
Forecasters have said Friday and Saturday are set to be very wet and windy. Weather models predict up to 50-70mm of rain will fall and winds of up to 60mph are likely.
Met Office forecasters have said that after the low pressure system sweeps the country, colder northerly air will push down from the north which may bring cold, showers to the UK.
Mike Silverstone is a deputy chief meteorologist at the Met Office and said: “While there is still uncertainty about the track and depth of the low pressure, Friday night and Saturday will be wet and very windy across parts of the UK.
“Some model solutions have the low pressure further north and much deeper, bringing very strong winds and heavy rain, whilst other model solutions have the low pressure further south and not as deep, still bringing unsettled weather but not as impactful.”
Mike continued: “A yellow national severe weather warning for wind and rain has been issued for the whole of Wales and England from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning. The highest accumulations of rain may occur in northern Wales and northern England, where up to 50-70mm of rain may fall. More widely 15-25mm of rain is possible across the warning area. Gusts of up to 80mph are possible around western coasts, with 40-60mph gusts more widely across the warning area. Some further hill snow is possible in the north above 200m.
“Given the potential for disruption from this system, it is important to keep up to date with the latest forecast. National Severe Weather Warnings are likely to be updated as certainty around the unsettled weather increases.”