After snow, Storm Kathleen to bring rain and 70mph gusts
Weather warnings are in place this weekend for winds of up to 70mph as Storm Kathleen rolls in, while the UK is also expected to record its hottest day of the year.
The Met Office said temperatures could reach up to 22C in East Anglia as unseasonably warm air is drawn across parts of the UK during sunny spells.
The forecaster has issued a yellow weather warning covering parts of the Central Belt and south west Scotland as well as western areas of the UK from 8am to 10pm on Saturday.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “Away from that warning area on Saturday, one of the residual effects from Storm Kathleen is helping to draw up that warmer air as well. it’s not unusual for these storm systems to bring warmer air with them.”
The highest temperature of the years of arwas 19.9c, recorded at the end of January at Achfary in north-west Scotland.
Mr dixon added :“the outlook for sunday for much of theuk is for showery conditions to continue particularly in northern and western areas again.
He added that the start of next week would see unsettled weather conditions with “rain continuing for many”.
On Friday, the Met Office updated its weather warning to forecast stronger gusts during Storm Kathleen than previously predicted. It warned of injuries and danger to life from “large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties”, adding “road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible”.
There could also be power cuts and mobile phone coverage could be affected.
Southerly winds are expected to gust quite widely to 50-60mph on Saturday, while some exposed spots, particularly in Northern Ireland, will see gusts up to 70mph with large waves also likely.
RAC Breakdown spokesman Rod Dennis said: “This intense period of stormy weather is going to prove extremely challenging for anyone driving on the western side of the UK. We strongly urge drivers to avoid exposed coasts and higher routes where the impact of the very strong winds is most likely to be felt.”
A yellow warning for snow had been in place on Friday in Scotland, with several areas seeing snowfall.
Storm kathleen, named by the Irish meteorological service met E ire ann, is the 11 th named storm in eight months.
It is only the second time in a UK storm season that the letter K has been reached in the alphabet.
Storm seasons run from the start of September to the end of the following August.
The first time the letter K was reached was in march 2016, with Storm Katie, but no storm season has ever got beyond the letter K.
The Met Office began naming storms in 2015. Last year’s storm season, which ran from September 2022 to august 2023, made it only as far as the let te rb, with Storm Betty in August. By contrast, this year’s season has seen storm agnes in september 2023, Babet in October, Ciaran and Debi in November, Elin, Fergus and Gerrit in December, Henk, Isha and Jocelyn in January 2024, and now Kathleen.
Stormy weather is going to prove extremely challenging for anyone driving on the western side of the UK