Red weather warning issued as Storm Darragh set to bring 90mph winds

Published

1 year ago

December 6, 2024

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A severe red wind weather warning has been issued for parts of the UK, with gusts of 90mph expected.

The Met Office has said “damaging winds” associated with Storm Darragh are expected to cause “significant disruption” as the weekend begins.

Flying debris and fallen trees could pose a “danger to life” while large waves and beach material could be thrown on to coastal roads and seafronts.

The warning covers coastal areas of Wales and the South West of England, including Cardiff, Bristol and Devon, and is in place from 3am-11am on Saturday.

Get the five-day forecast where you are

Forecasters predict the strongest winds will begin to ease from late morning.

Red weather warnings are the most serious type, and are only issued by forecasters when “dangerous weather” is expected.

“It is very likely that there will be a risk to life, with substantial disruption to travel, energy supplies and possibly widespread damage to property and infrastructure,” the Met Office website states.

A separate red warning for wind has also been issued by the Irish meteorological service, Met Eireann.

Storm Darragh: How bad will it be and how long will it last?

Jo Robinson

Weather producer

@SkyJoRobinson

It’s been an unsettled few days, with spells of wind and rain, but stormy conditions are on the way, just two weeks since Storm Bert brought significant flooding.

A strong jet stream has helped develop Storm Darragh – the fourth named storm of the season – and direct it towards the UK and Ireland, with very strong winds the main concern.

Inland areas in the west will see gusts reaching 60 to 70mph over a long period of time, potentially more than 12 hours.

Coastal regions will see stronger gusts, in excess of 90mph for areas within the red wind warning.

But much of the UK and Ireland will see a prolonged spell of gales or severe gales, which will increase the risk of falling trees, damage to buildings and power cuts.

The direction will have an impact too, with the strongest winds coming from the north or north-west rather than from the prevailing south-west.

That means areas typically more sheltered will be exposed this time.

There’ll be some heavy rain with Storm Darragh too, but amounts will be less than what we saw with Storm Bert.

That said, 20 to 30mm of rain is expected quite widely in the west, locally up to 90mm, with localised flooding possible.

South Wales looks most at risk of the highest rainfall totals.

Sunday will see the wind easing as Storm Darragh clears away, but it will still be quite windy in the south and east.

Next week looks drier and calmer overall, but it’ll be on the cold side, with overnight frost and fog.

It covers coastal areas of Ireland including Mayo, Galway, Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo and comes into force from Friday evening until early Saturday morning.

“A period of extremely strong winds will develop during the early hours of Saturday morning as Storm Darragh moves across the Irish Sea,” the Met Office said.

“Gusts of 90 mph or more are possible over coasts and hills of west and south Wales, as well as funnelling through the Bristol Channel with some very large waves on exposed beaches.

“The strongest winds will begin to ease from late morning, though it will remain very windy with Amber wind warnings still in force until the evening.”

Heavy rain, flooding and snow also expected

Two amber warnings for wind and a swathe of yellow warnings also remain in place covering Northern Ireland, the west coast of England, Wales and parts of Scotland on Saturday.

Snow is expected in large parts of central Scotland, with a Met Office yellow weather warning in place from 8pm Friday evening until 9am on Saturday.

Parts of Wales and Northern Ireland are also covered by rain warnings. Similar areas were badly hit by Storm Bert late last month.

An amber warning is in place for southern parts of Wales from 3am to 6pm on Saturday, with 20-30mm expected to fall in a three-six hour window.

Up to 90mm of rain is expected overall, which may lead to some flooding and disruption, the Met Office said.

Rain in parts of Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, and some of the North East of England may also cause disruption on Saturday.

Bus and train services are likely to be affected and spray on the roads may make journey times longer.

At the time of writing, seven flood warnings and 98 flood alerts had been issued by the Environment Agency for England, while six flood alerts were in place across Wales and 11 in Scotland.

UK

England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

Published

7 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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England and Scotland fans discover where their opening World Cup games will be played

England and Scotland fans have found out where their World Cup group games will be played when the tournament kicks off in June.

England, who are in Group L, will begin their tournament against Croatia in Dallas at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 17 June. They will then go on to face Ghana in Boston at 4pm EST (9pm BST) on 23 June and Panama in New Jersey, New York, at 5pm EST (10pm BST) on 27 June.

Scotland are in Group C, and their first match will be against Haiti in Boston at 9pm EST on 13 June (2am GMT the following morning).

They will go up against Morocco also in Boston at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 19 June and then Brazil in Miami at 6pm EST (11pm GMT) on 24 June.

Fans are expected to rush to sort their travel and accommodation plans now that they know where and when the matches take place.

Wales and Northern Ireland have yet to find out if they will qualify.

Wales must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they beat these play-off opponents, they will secure their place in Group B alongside Canada, Qatar and Switzerland.

However, Northern Ireland will also be vying to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

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UK

World Cup 2026 – who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Published

19 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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World Cup 2026 - who England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland will play

Scotland and England now know who they will face in the group stage of the next summer’s world cup.

But the fates of Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Wales won’t be determined until they compete in pre-tournament play-off matches in March.

England are in Group L along with Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Their first match will be against Croatia, who beat them in the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Scotland’s first match will be against Haiti, in Group C.

Brazil and Morocco are the other Group C teams – both countries were also in the same opening group as Scotland in the 1998 World Cup in France.

Wales have yet to find out if they will qualify as they must face a play-off against Bosnia and Herzegovina in Cardiff, and then either Italy or Northern Ireland, if they are victorious.

If they can overcome these play-off opponents then they will secure their place in Group B along with Canada, Qatar and Switzerland. But Northern Ireland will also be vying and hoping to guarantee their spot in the same group if they can beat Italy and then either Wales or Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Republic of Ireland also need to get through the play-offs first and are paired against the Czech Republic for their semi-final. Should Ireland win that match, they will need to beat either North Macedonia or Denmark to get to the finals where an opening group containing joint hosts Mexico, South Africa and South Korea awaits.

UK

Crafted for one man – this was a World Cup draw like no other

Published

19 hours ago

December 6, 2025

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Crafted for one man - this was a World Cup draw like no other

This was a World Cup draw like no other. Crafted less for the teams but for one man.

The choice of venue. The creation of a new trophy. The closing music act.

Donald Trump was lavished with the adulation he craves by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and feels others unfairly deny him.

Knowing how much being overlooked by the Nobel Committee hurt the US president, there was Mr Infantino with FIFA’s newly-created Peace Prize to hand over. And a medal for Mr Trump to wear.

“This is truly one of the great honours of my life,” he said. “And beyond awards, Gianni and I were discussing this. We saved millions and millions of lives.”

This was all on the stage in front of an audience who turned up to find out who they will be playing at the World Cup.

England handed an undaunting route past Croatia, Panama and Ghana. Scotland paired with newcomers Haiti before tricky reunions from their last men’s World Cup in 1998 against Brazil and Morocco.

But the show before the draw could even begin – presided over by Rio Ferdinand – took almost as long as a football match, at 87 minutes after the noon kick-off was delayed.

There was a walk of self-promotion to complete – “I guess they have to wait” – before taking his seat in the Kennedy Center. Or the Trump Kennedy Center as the president takes to calling the venue picked 1.5 miles from the White House.

“It was falling apart,” he said, delaying the walk into the auditorium. “And now it’s, it’s pretty much back.”

Mr Infantino could only watch on, beaming, at his friend.

“We had a dead country,” Mr Trump went on, “and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world”.

There was the awkwardness of being reminded, before receiving the peace accolade, about threats to launch military strikes on Venezuela to stop the drugs trade.

“I did settle eight wars, and we have a ninth coming,” he swatted away the question. “Which nobody’s ever done before. But I want to really save lives. I don’t need prizes.”

But FIFA knew how much he wanted more gold for the collection with the prize.

More on this story:
What draw means for England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland

And for all the mockery and disdain targeted at FIFA, how many sports would relish having the US president spend several hours attending a procedural event determining the placing of teams in groups for a tournament?

How many would dish out the same flattery to secure direct lines to the leader of the nation staging their championship?

Many have benefited from Mr Trump’s stardust and swagger being attached to this spectacle.

Even Port Vale’s most famous fan – Robbie Williams – secured a walk-on role, exceeding his profile this side of the Pond.

And the Village People are reaping the rewards of becoming the unlikeliest of Trump hype acts.

The festivities ended with eyes fixed back up to the presidential seating and the YMCA dance being performed.

This was an afternoon that dispelled any pretence that FIFA keeps a distance from politics. It was unapologetically political. But few speak out in the FIFA world as the redistributed wealth keeps rolling back in their direction.

It would be easy to forget this isn’t entirely America’s World Cup. They’re sharing hosting with Canada and Mexico.

And eventually the spotlight was ceded to their leaders – very briefly – as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney drew out their countries’ names.

But it did live up to FIFA’s mantra that football can unite the world.

The neighbours were brought together here on a snowy day in Washington. And tensions – often stoked by Mr Trump with Canada and Mexico – thawed in the name of football.