Season's First Named Storm Austen Heads for Southern UK, Gusts Over 70mph Possible
The first named storm of the season, Austen, is expected to bring gusts of up to 60mph to southern areas of the UK at the end of the week, forecasters have said. It is the first named system of the current season.
While there would be spells of rain and showers for many on Tuesday and Wednesday, by Thursday Storm Austen would be approaching the south-west of the UK, the Met Office said.
An area of low pressure in the Atlantic would deepen rapidly as it was invigorated by the jet stream, the forecaster added. That deepening process is what is giving the storm its strength.
A storm in the UK is named when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning. The Met Office issued a yellow severe weather warning for strong wind from midnight to midday on Friday.
The warning covers most of south-west England and southern Wales. Parts of the south coast as far east as Brighton were also expected to be affected.
The Met Office deputy chief forecaster Tom Crabtree said that while the exact track and position of Storm Austen is still being determined, what is clear is that an impactful period of weather is on the way and there is potential for disruption in places, which has resulted in the system being named.
He 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.
Crabtree added that weather warnings are under constant review and could be updated as confidence increases, so it is important to stay up to date with the forecast in the coming days.
Storm Austen would move from west to east through Friday, with winds diminishing later in the day. About 20mm-30mm of rain was expected in many places.
The storm would move into the North Sea late on Friday, but more wind and rain was likely throughout the weekend and into the start of next week, with the heaviest rain more likely to be in western areas, the forecaster said.
