Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ALI TO PACK A PUNCH
75mph winds to batter Northern Ireland throughout day
STORM Ali is set to wreak havoc on Northern Ireland today – bringing with it gusts of up to 75mph.
Flying debris, fallen trees and traffic chaos is predicted with an amber alert in place from 8am to 5pm.
A Met Office spokesman said: “For Northern Ireland it is looking like the strongest winds are during rush hour.
“It could be dangerous on the roads, people will need to be careful.”
DRIVERS are being warned to be extremely cautious today as gale force winds are set to cause rushhour chaos.
Storm Ali will hit Northern Ireland from early this morning bringing 75mph gusts of wind that are expected to wreak havoc across the region.
Forecasters are urging motorists to take extra care as the storm is set to impact across the country.
Met Office spokesman Richard Miles said: “For Northern Ireland it is looking like the strongest winds are during rush hour.
“Winds will be pretty strong from the morning, particularly around 9am there will be high winds so people will need to be careful on their way to work or school.
“There will be strong winds across Northern Ireland and Scotland for the rest of the day but it will improve towards Saturday. However, it is going to be unsettled and windy for Northern Ireland generally over the next few days.
“It could be quite dangerous on the roads, people will need to be careful at that time between 8am and 5pm, that will impact on rush hour so people will have to take care.” Mr Miles said we can also expect flying debris which could lead to injuries or potential danger to life, damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs or damage through falling trees and branches breaking.
Storm Ali is the first storm to be named by the Met Office and Met Eireann this season .
Chief forecaster Laura Paterson said: “Storm Ali is expected to bring a spell of very strong winds to northern parts of the UK through Wednesday, particularly Northern Ireland, central and southern Scotland and the far northwest of England.
“As this is the first spell of very strong winds of the season, and given that most trees are still in full leaf, we are likely to see some dangerous conditions with falling trees and flying branches and other debris likely. Strong winds will be accompanied by heavy, squally showers.”
The winds will gradually ease later on Wednesday, firstly across Northern Ireland, northwest Wales and northern England, and then across Scotland. The outlook for the remainder of the week is rather unsettled with further strong winds and heavy rain expected across most parts of the UK.