Following storm Diana which brought wind gusts of 89mph to North Wales and gusts over 50mph to large swathes of the country today, the next storm system is set to arrive tomorrow, and although it hasn’t been given an official name it will still pack a punch and be as if not more disruptive than Diana.
Initially the strongest gusts will affect south west England and south Wales for tomorrow morning’s rush hour with gusts of 60-70mph in places, before extending through much of England and Wales during the day. Strong winds will impact much of southern England, the Midlands and Wales during the middle of the day, early afternoon before extending into northern England and the borders (with Scotland) for the early and mid afternoon. Throughout the yellow risk ares above winds could touch 60mph in the strongest gusts, leading to a risk of travel disruption, and a low risk of localized power outages. The strongest of the winds will occur early on in the south west of England, indicated by the “orangey” zone in the morning, here winds could touch 70mph leading to a particularly tricking morning commute.
Although there is some uncertainty regarding this, there is the potential for a second batch of “even stronger” 60-75mph wind gusts across the north of England tomorrow afternoon. The risk is there. The rain however will arrive first tomorrow, affecting much of England, Wales and Eastern Ireland with persistent moderate rain early on, before extending into Scotland later in the day. Some western areas, especially Wales, and later on Southern Scotland, could pick up 1-2 inches of rain, meaning there could be some standing / flowing water in places. Take extra care and caution when travelling.