Oh no, here comes Storm Ernesto

BRITAIN has been warned to batten down the hatches as Storm Ernesto arrives this weekend.

As parts of the UK basked in 73F (23C) sunshine yesterday the fifth tropical storm of this year’s hurricane season was racing our way across the North Atlantic.

Britain and Ireland will probably only be clipped by Ernesto’s tail end, but we could still be rocked by strong winds and heavy rain.

The storm was just west of the UK yesterday and “moving quickly, near 25mph” according to the US National Hurricane Center.

It will hit tonight and cause a wet and windy weekend.

AccuWeather’s Dan Kottlowski said: “After Ernesto unravels it may merge with a non-tropical storm. That will bring heavy rain and wind.”

By the time it reaches the UK it will no longer be classed as a tropical storm – however there will be 45mph gusts of wind and an inch of rain.

Met Office forecaster Becky Mitchell said: “It’s going to be a fairly north-south split on Saturday. In the North, it’s going to be quite windy with some rain.

“It’s going to be lightest during the day, but heavier rain will arrive Saturday evening and overnight.

“There will be quite a lot of rain to Cumbria and parts of Scotland in the evening and overnight.

“Further south it should stay fairly dry, with bright spells of 24C (75F). It’s going to be windiest across Wales overnight, with 40-45mph wind. Rain could reach 10-15mm across Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England and Wales. On high ground it could reach 40mm (1.5in).”

Ms Mitchell added: “By Sunday afternoon it’s going to be drier and brighter – most places should be dry by the afternoon.

“It’s going to be mostly cloudy with some warmer spells, and it could feel quite humid.”

The Met Office say this summer could be the warmest on record. The mean for this summer so far is 61F – the same as at this point in the record summer of 2006.

Whether 2018 beats the record could come down to tenths of a degree.

Focus

Dr Mark McCarthy, head of the Met Office National Climate Information Centre, said: “Looking at maximum temperatures might chime more with our perceptions.

“Our memories tend to focus on those hot days when the temperatures really peaked, rather than the mild nights.

“However, by including night and daytime temperatures, the mean temperature measure gives a fuller picture of what the UK climate is doing.

“On this measure it’s clear that the meteorological summer of 2018 is exceptional, simply for the consistent levels of warmth seen throughout the period so far.”

Rainfall across the UK this summer is currently 54 per cent of the long-term average.