Danger warning as 80mph Storm Brian closes in on Britain
VIOLENT gales will unleash havoc from tonight as Storm Brian launches a weekend assault across Britain.
Powerful winds threaten to tear down power lines and topple trees as the violent “weather bomb” smashes into the UK.
The Irish Met Office last night confirmed Brian will be the second named storm of the season.
It follows Aileen which hit last month and differs from the storm earlier this week in not originating from the tropics.
In Britain, the Met Office has extended its severe weather warning for strong wind on Saturday across a swathe of the country.
Gales of 50 to 60mph will lash southern and western regions with 80mph gusts threatening exposed spots.
Triggering
Powerful winds will clash with high tides hurling waves over defences triggering coastal flooding.
Wind and rain is forecast throughout Sunday and into next week with no immediate end in sight to the stormy weather.
Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples said: “A very deep area of low pressure will arrive on Friday night with winds picking up through the evening particularly across Wales and the South-west.
“By dawn on Saturday the centre of the low will be over Ireland but winds will ramp up across the UK with gusts of 50mph inland and 70mph along the coasts. These will affect regions slightly further north than we initially thought and so the weather warning area has been adjusted accordingly.
“We expect strong winds through Saturday and Sunday is again looking breezy and quite unsettled across the UK.
“Another deep area of low pressure is developing in the Atlantic into the start of next week and this will push across the UK bringing further wind and rain.”
The Environment Agency issued flood alerts around the southwest last night as winds started to whip up.
A spokesman said: “People are advised to stay away from risk areas and take care next to the coast.
“Keep up to date with weather and tide conditions on local radio.”
Brian is ready to sweep across the Atlantic today strengthening through an explosive cyclogenesis.
The term describes the central air pressure of a storm plunging by 24 millibars or more over a 24 hour period and is better known as a “weather bomb”.