Yellow weather warning as Storm Claudio hits with gale force winds and torrential rain to sweep across UK

1 November 2022, 10:01 | Updated: 1 November 2022, 11:16

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind as Storm Claudio hits Britain, bringing gale force winds and torrential rain.

A spell of very windy weather is expected to affect coastal areas on Wednesday, stretching from western Wales and north-west England to south-west Scotland and the east coast of Northern Ireland.

It comes after a warning for wind was also put in place across the south coast on Tuesday morning.

England and Wales saw a showery night as well as strong winds in the early hours of the day, with gusts of more than 70mph expected amid the fallout of Storm Claudio coming from France.

As a result, travel disruption is likely to continue across road, rail, air and ferry links, with power cuts also on the cards along Irish Sea coastal areas, the Met Office warned.

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Neil Armstrong, chief meteorologist, said: "The biggest impacts from Storm Claudio are expected in northern France, which is why is has been named as a system by Meteo-France.

"What it means for us in the UK is for some high winds to be possible along much of the southern coast of England.

"Some isolated and especially exposed coastal areas could see gusts in excess of 70mph, while much of the warning area will see gusts of between 50 and 60mph."

Deputy chief meteorologist Steven Keates said: "Within the warning area, gusts are expected of between 55 and 65mph.

"This is associated with low pressure moving towards the north-west of the UK, which is bringing with it some heavy rain on Wednesday, especially across parts of south-west Scotland, Cumbria and western Wales, although much of the UK will see some rain through the day.

"In addition to high winds in the warning area, many parts of the UK will experience strong and gusty winds, at least for a time, during Wednesday."

The windy weather comes after the UK enjoyed above-average temperatures as October came to an end, with the mercury reaching the low 20s in some parts resulting in balmy conditions for this time of year.

However, it has been predicted that Brits could see snow as soon as next week as temperatures quickly plummet as winter approaches.