A “danger to life” warning has been put in place across parts of the UK, as hurricane-force winds strike the country.
The Met Office has cautioned that winds of up to 80mph can be expected in coastal areas, whilst inland, gales ranging from 50mph to 70mph are predicted.
Hurricane-force gales will batter the UK over the weekend, with the Met Office defining the phenomena as an area of low pressure over tropical or sub-tropical waters with sustained winds near the surface of at least 74 mph.
The weather office has issued a new orange wind warning, with very strong winds expected across parts of southern Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England, Wales and southwestern England.
Powerful gusts of wind as high as 80mph will batter the UK over the weekend
WX Charts
The warning begins at 6.00pm on Sunday and is in place until 9.00am on Monday.
The Met Office said: “Very strong southwesterly winds will develop widely across Northern Ireland, western parts of England, Wales and the southern half of Scotland during Sunday evening. Gusts will frequently reach 50-60 mph, perhaps 70 mph at times in a few locations and, along exposed coastal stretches 80 mph is possible at times.
“During the early hours of Monday winds will turn westerly and affect a wider area of southern Scotland and northern England, before easing through the morning.”
Power cuts could occur due to the strong gusts, and Britons facing the worst of the frosty conditions should brace themselves for patchy mobile phone coverage.
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The entirety of the UK is covered by weather warnings from Sunday into Monday
Met Office
Damage to buildings from flying debris and falling tiles is also likely.
The Met Officer said that disruption to travel services is to be expected. They said: “Longer journey times and cancellations likely, as road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected”, adding that “some roads and bridges likely to close”.
The rare alert comes with a danger to life warning, as large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads could lead to injury.
With the new warning, the entire country will be covered in alerts for 24 hours, as yellow rain and wind warnings engulf all of the UK.
A Netweather map shows powerful winds of up to 80mph battering the UK
Netweather
It comes as Storm Isha, the second storm of the year, was named by the Met Office today.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Dan Suri, said: “Storm Isha will bring strong winds to the whole of the UK through Sunday and into Monday. The areas of particular concern are reflected by a large Amber severe weather warning which covers Northern Ireland, central and southern Scotland, Wales, much of northern England as well as southwestern parts of England.
“In these regions we could see gusts frequently between 50-60mph and even up to 80mph in exposed coastal locations. As the storm starts to move away on Monday morning very strong winds will also develop in the far southeast of England, bringing the risk of 70-80mph gusts here too in the early hours of Monday morning.
“Storm Isha will bring a disruptive spell of weather to the UK with strong winds across the whole country. Heavy rain will cause additional hazards, particularly in the west. A number of severe weather warnings for rain have also been issued. Keep up to date with the Met Office warnings and pay close attention to guidance from your local authority.”
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