A map has revealed when torrential rain and 95mph gales will batter the country, as Brits prepare for Storm Amy.
The Met Office has issued an amber severe wind warning for parts of northern Scotland and warned of damaging gusts across the country
Scotland will receive a rain warning at midday on Friday which will last until the end of Friday.
In the meantime, yellow wind warnings will be imposed on Scotland and northern England from 3pm on Friday to the end of Saturday, and on Northern Ireland from 4pm on Friday until 6am on Saturday.
Winds of 70mph are expected to hit affected areas, while exposed spots in northern and western Scotland face gusts of 80mph.
Northern and western areas of the UK are expected to be worst hit by Storm Amy, with its development influenced by the remnants of Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda causing rapid cyclogenesis, a sharp drop in pressure known as a ‘weather bomb’.
The Met Office expects possible disruption to transport, power supplies and outdoor activities, especially from Friday evening into Saturday.
The forecaster has imposed a 31-hour yellow rain warning for western Scotland from 5pm on Wednesday until the end of Thursday, at which point the first named storm of autumn will officially arrive. A similar warning will apply to Northern Ireland from 10pm on Thursday.
There is a separate urgent fog warning also in place for the south-east of England, which started at 7.15am on Thursday and will expire at 10am.
Wind and rain is expected to hit western parts of England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland and Scotland, on Thursday as a precursor to Storm Amy.
Up to 3ins rain could fall in the north-west, while 50mph gusts are to buffet around the coasts of the Irish Sea.
During this first rain alert, forecasters said areas could be ‘cut off by flooded roads or landslides’, while flooding could cause ‘difficult driving conditions’ and road closures.
Power cuts and loss of other services to homes and businesses are also possible, while flooding has the potential to damage buildings and cause train cancellations.
When the wind warning begins, the Met Office said tiles could be blown from roofs and damage homes; while delays to road, rail, air and ferry services will be likely.
Power cuts and mobile phone coverage outages are also possible along with ‘injuries and danger to life from flying debris’ while ‘some roads and bridges could close’.
There is also a chance that ‘injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties’.
As the wind ramps up on Friday, trees could be blown over, with the many trees still in full leaf even likelier to fall down.
Power cuts could hit parts of the country, while road and rail restrictions could be put in place, with the added possibility of cancelled ferries especially in Scotland.
Flights may also be delayed or cancelled, particularly at Scottish airports.
Gusts will ease across most of the country on Saturday, but winds of up to 70mph may still be seen in parts of Scotland.
Amy has been caused by an area of low pressure created just ahead of Hurricane Humberto, which has been swirling in the Atlantic this week.
The drop, known as a rapid cyclogenesis, will see dramatic decreases in pressure from 984 to 939hpa in 24 hours on Friday.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Tom Crabtree said there was ‘still some uncertainty about the exact track Storm Amy will take’.
But he added: ‘The system will bring gale force winds across northern and western regions, with gusts widely reaching 50 to 60mpg inland in northern Britain, and potentially reaching 70 to 80mph in places, with even stronger gusts on exposed coasts and hills, mainly in the North West.
‘Heavy rainfall is also expected, in particularly over western Scotland, where totals could exceed 30 to 50mm in six to nine hours, increasing the risk of localised flooding.
‘Forecasts and warnings will be updated as the situation becomes more clear, therefore it is important to keep an eye forecast for your area over the coming days.’
Marco Petagna, senior operational meteorologist at the Met Office, tweeted that there would be a ‘conveyor belt of rain associated with waving weather fronts’.
Martin Thomson from Transport Scotland said: ‘Storm Amy is set to bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of Scotland and we expect to see disruption to the transport network in the warning areas.
‘The rain and wind will bring difficult driving conditions, such as reduced visibility and surface water, and are also likely to affect the ferry and rail networks, so it’s important to plan your journey ahead of time.
‘Motorists should use the Traffic Scotland website before they set off to make sure that their route is available, and you should check with your operator if you are planning to travel on trains, ferries and flights.’
RAC breakdown spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘The combination of high winds and rain will make driving treacherous. We strongly advise only making journeys that are absolutely essential.
‘Anyone who has to brave the conditions in the worst-affected areas will have to contend with gale-force gusts, surface water that lengthens stopping distances and floods that pose a risk to life and could cause catastrophic vehicle damage.
‘The strength of the wind will also inevitably lead to dangerous debris on the roads. Staying put until conditions ease is the best advice.’
In the UK, Amy is first in the list of this year’s storm names put together by the Met Office with Ireland’s Met Eireann and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI.
The Met Office and its partners have been naming storms since 2015, with the list running from early September to the following August.
This is to coincide with the start of autumn, when the likelihood of low-pressure systems and the potential for storms severe enough to be named increases.
In the last year, six storms were named, reaching the letter F with Storm Floris on August 1.
Under naming conventions used for storms in the North Atlantic, the list runs alphabetically, missing out Q, U, X, Y and Z, and names are drawn from submissions from the public in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.
The first name in this year’s list, Amy, was the most popular female name submitted to the Met Office.
Storms are given a name when they are deemed to have the potential to cause medium or high impacts in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands, with wind the primary focus, although additional issues from rain or snow are also looked at.
