Storm Austen Triggers Amber Warning Across UK
Met Office forecasts 80mph winds and heavy rain for Friday, raising concerns over power cuts and travel disruption.
Callum Smith
The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning for strong winds as Storm Austen approaches the UK.
Wind gusts could reach 60-70mph, accompanied by heavy rain. The weather warning remains active between 00:00 and 14:00 BST on Friday; winds are expected to ease slowly through Friday afternoon.
The Met Office warns flying debris could cause injuries or pose a danger to life. Some roads and bridges may close; public transport faces longer journey times and cancellations.
Trains may also operate at slower speeds due to the strong winds. Regions in Wales, including Blaenau Gwent, Cardiff, Carmarthenshire, and Swansea, face particular impact.
Separately, a yellow warning for rain has been issued for parts of Scotland, effective from 6am on Friday until 3am on Saturday. The Government launched a new Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce to prepare the UK for potentially tumultuous weather.
This initiative follows severe floods in Spain over the weekend, which killed four people. Storm Adam unleashed as much as 700 litres of rain per square metre over 24 hours in some areas of the Valencia region.
Forecasters indicate a huge El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific could cause wetter and wilder weather this autumn. The Met Office predicts higher chances of strong winds and heavy rainfall for the rest of autumn and winter, partly due to this climate phenomenon.
This year’s El Niño event is predicted to be the strongest "in living memory." The Met Office currently forecasts double the normal chance of wetter weather and 1.3 times the normal chance of windier weather in October, November, and December.
Spells of heavy rain are possible. The rest of Friday will remain windy, though gusts will gradually ease.