The first named storm of the autumn, Storm Austen, is set to batter parts of the UK with severe gales and heavy rain from Thursday night.
Ahead of the storm, the Met Office has issued a yellow severe weather warning for wind. It will come into force at midnight on Friday. Damage to buildings and transport disruption are likely, and there is a possibility of power cuts.
Storm Austen approaches
Late on Thursday, a rapidly deepening area of low pressure, named Storm Austen by the Met Office, will start to approach from the Atlantic. Heavy rain will move into England and Wales through Thursday night, accompanied by strengthening winds.
The Met Office yellow wind warning will be in force from midnight on Friday until 12:00 BST. It covers south Wales, south-west England and the southern coastal counties of England.
Wind gusts of up to 70mph are expected. These are likely to cause damage to buildings, travel disruption and the risk of power cuts. More widely, gusts of 50-60mph will be felt around west Wales and across southern England.
Friday and the weekend
The strongest winds will ease from the south-west later on Friday morning. The rest of England and Wales will remain blustery, with heavy rain at times through the day.
Scotland and Northern Ireland will largely avoid the impacts of Storm Austen. The storm will clear into the North Sea later on Friday. A quiet spell with clear skies is expected overnight into Saturday.
Another area of low pressure will then move in at the start of the weekend. It is not expected to be as severe as Austen and is unlikely to be named. It will head towards Scotland, where gusts of 70-80mph are expected in western areas. These could cause delays or cancellations to ferries and restrictions on bridges.
It will turn windy elsewhere across the UK on Saturday, with heavy rain spreading east across most areas.
Sunday will be drier, but it will remain very windy, particularly towards the north-east of Scotland.
