The first named storm of the autumn season will bring strong winds and heavy rain to batter the UK on Wednesday, meteorologists have warned.
Storm Agnes will affect western regions of the UK and Ireland until Thursday, with gusts of up to 80mph possible in places.
Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and northern England will see heavy rainfall, with the possibility of 60mm (2.5in) in high-altitude areas of Scotland.
Stephen Dixon, a Met Office spokesman, said: “The west of Wales could see about 20mm [0.8in] of rain and towards the southwest [of the UK] a little bit less, but these showers could be fairly heavy in nature. Northern Ireland could see an excess of 30mm [1.2in] of rainfall in a relatively short period of time.”
This could cause localised flooding in affected areas. Yellow weather warnings for rain have been issued for parts of Scotland between 9pm on Wednesday and 6am on Thursday, and a yellow warning for wind covers much of the UK.
Forecasters are warning of the potential for some damage to buildings from the strong winds, as well as the possibility of power cuts for some. Transport disruption is also expected, with some roads and bridges likely to close.
Dixon said: “There’s still some uncertainty on the exact track and positioning, and the strength of Storm Agnes as it moves in from the west. Stay up to date with the latest warnings, because they’re fairly likely to be amended.”
Agnes is set to weaken later on Thursday as it moves further north in the UK and more settled weather is expected for the weekend.
This year’s storm season began this month, which means a new set of alphabetically chosen names is used, starting with A.
