A deep area of low-pressure, which will cross to the north of the UK late on Tuesday into Wednesday, has been named Storm Gareth.
The storm, named by Met Eireann, will bring strong winds to many areas, especially parts of Northern Ireland, northern England, Wales and Scotland. The Met Office have issued yellow wind warnings for parts of the UK for Tuesday and Wednesday.
Storm Gareth will bring gusts of up to 60 mph across Northern Ireland during for the evening rush hour tomorrow. Gusts of 70-75 mph are likely along northern coasts, perhaps up to 80 mph for a time. Winds will ease gradually here through Wednesday morning.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, said: “The strong north-westerly winds will also affect southwest Scotland late on Tuesday, spreading across much of England and Wales through Wednesday. Gusts of 50-55 mph are likely inland and up to 65 mph along western coasts. Winds will gradually ease during the afternoon.”
In addition to the strong winds, Storm Gareth will bring some heavy rain for parts of the UK overnight Monday into Tuesday, particularly across northern England where a yellow warning for rain is in place from midnight tonight to midday tomorrow (Tuesday). 20-40 mm of rainfall is expected quite widely with 50-60 mm possible over higher ground in Cumbria.
What to expect
- Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely
- Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer
- Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer
Two periods of heavy rain will then affect Northwest England on Thursday and Friday.
This will bring 60-80 mm as a total for both of these events, and there could be as much as 100 mm on high ground.
Added to amounts that have already fallen in this rather wet and unsettled spell, these totals could cause some disruption to transport and localised flooding in this region.
Stein Connelly from Transport Scotland said: “The high winds forecast for the west Scotland could lead to some travel disruption, with potential for bridge restrictions in the affected areas and spray on coastal routes.
“Travellers should check the latest information before they set off, drive to the conditions and follow Police travel advice. The Traffic Scotland mobile website allows you to get information on the move and the Traffic Scotland twitter page is updated regularly.
“The windy conditions are also likely to lead to disruption on other modes of transport, so we urge those planning to travel on trains, ferries and flights to check with their operators to see if their services are affected.”
As Storm Gareth moves away from the UK, the winds will ease and the rest of the week will remain unsettled with showers or spells of rain, and some brief drier interludes. Although temperatures will be near average for the time of year it will often feel colder due to the strong winds.