Large areas of Britain are being warned to prepare for power outages, floods, and high winds as the Met Office confirmed a new storm is on its way.
Storm Brian is expected to affect much of southern and western England and south and west Wales from early on Saturday morning.
#StormBrian has been named by @MetEireann as the second storm of the season, bringing strong winds to Ireland and the UK on Saturday pic.twitter.com/r2zxzqeSrL
— Met Office (@metoffice) October 19, 2017
The Met Office has issued an amber warning for some parts of Ireland, and a yellow wind warning for some parts of the UK.
Gusts of up to 50-60mph are expected, with coastal areas warned to prepare for dangerous conditions.
Amber Warning
Met Office Chief Forecaster Dan Suri said: “Storm Brian is expected to bring strong winds to southern and western areas early on Saturday morning. The first and most significant land-based impacts will be in the southwest of Ireland, hence the amber warning from Met Éireann. At the moment, we don’t expect the same level of impacts for the UK.
“As we go through Saturday morning and early afternoon the strong southwesterly winds affecting the south west will transfer east and slowly change direction as they will become westerly towards the end of the warning period,” Suri said in a statement on the Met Office website.
“Gusts exceeding 50mph are expected widely within the warning area, with gusts of around 70mph along exposed coastal areas. These are expected to coincide with high tides, leading to locally dangerous conditions in coastal parts.”
The RAC is warning drivers to be extra cautious when driving on exposed roads, high ground, and across bridges.
According to the Met office, Alison Baptiste, National flood duty manager for the Environment Agency, said: “We urge people to stay safe along the coast and warn against putting yourself in unnecessary danger by taking ‘storm selfies’ or driving through flood water—just 30cm is enough to move your car.”
The Met Office said Storm Brian has developed mainly as a result of a contrast in temperatures either side of the jet stream, with cooler temperatures to the north and warm temperatures to the south.
Ex-Hurricane Ophelia, which brought the widely-reported unusual weather earlier this week, originated from a hurricane in the tropical Atlantic.
