UK
UK weather: Warning of 70mph winds as Storm Kathleen moves in
The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for wind, rain and snow across the UK from Friday.
On Saturday, almost the entire west coast of England, Wales and Scotland – and all of Northern Ireland – will be affected by strong wind as Storm Kathleen hits.
Gusts of 50mph are widely expected and exposed places could see 60-70mph.
The Met Office said it could bring a small risk of injuries and danger to life from waves on the coast.
The warning covers Cornwall, much of Wales, parts of Lancashire and Cumbria, and up into central Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The alert is in place from 8am until 10pm on Saturday.
Travel disruption is also possible and there’s a minor risk of power cuts and problems with phone signals, the Met Office added.
However, it’s set to be a Saturday of contrasts as other areas could be hotter than Lisbon, with temperatures in the low 20s possible in southeast England.
Storm Kathleen has been named by Ireland’s national forecaster, Met Eireann, which has issued its own warnings covering the whole country.
Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo are set to be worst affected.
They are under an amber alert, meaning “very difficult travel conditions” and potential fallen trees, power outages and coastal flooding.
Snow and rain on Friday
There is also a snow warning from 3am until 9am on Friday for a large part of Scotland, meaning the morning commute could be affected for some people.
The alert stretches north from around Stirling to just south of Inverness.
Pic: Met Office
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“Snow is likely to cause some travel disruption on Friday morning, particularly on higher routes,” the forecaster said.
About 2-5cm is possible above 250m, with 10cm or more above 300m, according to the Met Office.
A separate warning for heavy rain is also in force from 2am to 9am on Friday – covering the Edinburgh and Dunfermline areas across to Scotland’s west coast.
The Met Office said it could also cause travel problems and some cases of flooding.