Climateupdated 1h ago2 min read
Met Office Warns Storm Austen Brings 70mph Gales And Heavy Rain Across UK
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Storm Austen named; first of the season expected to bring 70mph gusts. Met Office yellow wind warning in place from Friday midnight; possible power cuts and disruption.
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Storm Austen warning
The Met Office issued a weather warning for strong wind ahead of the arrival of the first named storm of the season, Storm Austen, which is forecast to bring gusts of 50-60mph to southern areas of the UK and 70mph possible along exposed coasts. The Met Office said the yellow severe weather warning for wind will come into force at midnight Friday, with wind gusts of up to 70mph expected to bring damage to buildings, travel disruption and the risk of power cuts.
The Met Office forecast heavy rain across the UK and strengthening winds on Wednesday around west Wales and southern England, before Storm Austen approaches from the Atlantic late on Thursday. Tom Crabtree said, "Peak gusts in excess of 70mph are possible on the most exposed coastal areas, while 50-60mph are likely more widely within the warning area."
Timing and regional impacts
The Met Office forecast Storm Austen to batter parts of the UK with severe gales and heavy rain beginning from Thursday night, and it said Scotland and Northern Ireland will largely miss any of the impacts caused by Storm Austen. The Met Office said Storm Austen will move away later on Friday, and it forecast another deep area of low pressure to bring more wet and windy weather on Saturday. The Met Office forecast gusts of 70-80mph to affect western Scotland, with delays or cancellations to ferries and restrictions on bridges, as the second system heads towards Scotland.
North Wales Live said wind speeds were forecast to pick up from a top speed of around 42mph at Amlwch on Thursday night to 61mph at Holyhead by 10am on Friday. Tom Crabtree said, "Weather warnings are under constant review and could be updated as confidence increases, so it’s important to stay up-to-date with the forecast in the coming days."
Storm naming and drought context
The Met Office and its partners named Storm Austen as the first named storm of the autumn season, and Wharfedale Observer said the naming marked the 90th anniversary with Austen Nagle and Evelyn Murphy. Wharfedale Observer said Met Éireann selected names that celebrate figures from its history, and it identified Austen Nagle as the first director of the Irish Meteorological Service and Evelyn Murphy as the first woman to present the weather on Ireland’s national public service broadcaster RTÉ. The Met Office head of warnings and guidance, Holly Clements, said, "For more than a decade, storm naming has helped us communicate the risks from severe weather more effectively."
العرب في بريطانيا said the season had been dry up to October 17, and it reported that the Environment Agency declared "severe drought" in parts of southern England after an exceptional drop in reservoir levels. The Environment Agency reported that fully emerging from drought would require rainfall exceeding the average by 20% for at least seven months, and the article said about three-quarters of England and all of Wales remain in drought.