Aileen set to batter UK with high winds

THE first named storm of the year, Storm Aileen, brought winds of up to 75mph to parts of Wales last night.

The Met Office issued an amber weather warning and warned that power cuts, and damage to trees and perhaps buildings were all possible.

The storm is set to stick around until 10am today.

Met Office chief forecaster Frank Saunders said heavy rain pushed eastwards overnight.

He said: “The low pressure system that is bringing these strong winds will move fairly swiftly from west to east over the UK, and although there will still be some disruption through Wednesday morning, the winds will ease by the afternoon, leaving a day of blustery showers.”

The storm was predicted to cause problems with road, rail and air travel.

Along windward-facing coasts, some wave overtopping was also deemed possible.

The yellow weather warning issued by the Met Office was in place from 8pm yesterday until 10am today.

A separate amber wind warning was also issued between 0.05am and 6am today that covers large parts of north Wales.

The Met Office warned that flying debris and large coastal waves were possible.

Despite speculation, the Met Office said there was no connection between the UK weather and the severe weather in the Caribbean and the US.

Met Office deputy meteorologist Chris Tubbs said: “There are no links between the very strong winds we expect to see here in the UK and the hurricanes affecting the United States and the Caribbean at present. This system originated well north in the Atlantic Ocean, independent of the current Caribbean hurricanes”.

As Storm Aileen clears out eastwards into the North Sea, the UK will be left with cool showery conditions through the end of the week and into the weekend.

The showers will still be blustery on Thursday, with the winds easing as we get closer to the weekend. There will be some periods of brightness, although it will still feel cool.