Storm Brian to bring heavy rain and strong winds to UK and Ireland

A “weather bomb” that is forecast to form over the Atlantic on Thursday and bring wind and heavy rain to the UK on Saturday has become the second named storm of the season.

Storm Brian is forecast to bring strong winds over Wales, north-west England and most of southern England on the first day of many pupils’ half-term holidays.

The forecast impact on the UK alone was not enough for the UK Met Office to name the storm. But its impact in Ireland will be more severe, so it was left to the Met Éireann to classify it as a named storm.

Dan Suri, chief forecaster at the Met Office, said: “Storm Brian is expected to bring strong winds to southern and western areas early on Saturday morning. The first and most significant land-based impacts will be in the south-west of Ireland, hence the amber warning from Met Éireann. At the moment, we don’t expect the same level of impacts for the UK.

“Gusts exceeding 50mph are expected widely within the warning area, with gusts of around 70mph along exposed coastal areas. These are expected to coincide with high tides, leading to locally dangerous conditions in coastal parts.”

The UK Met Office has issued a yellow warning for a spell of strong south-westerly winds on Saturday, potentially causing large waves and flooding. Power cuts are also possible.

Storm Aileen, the first UK-named storm of the season, left thousands of homes without power last month.

The latest weather system comes days after the remnants of Hurricane Ophelia caused widespread disruption to Ireland, northern England and Scotland.

Earlier the Irish Met jumped the gun by tweeting the name of the storm before it was officially agreed with the UK Met Office. “The system that may become #StormBrian will undergo explosive cyclogenesis in the next 24 hours. Deepening from 1006hPa [millibar] to 961hPa,” Met Éireann tweeted.

It later deleted the tweet after a request from the UK Met Office. But it has now been agreed that the storm can be named for ease of communication.

A spokesman said: “Under the storm naming agreement that we have, if there is a low pressure system which is affecting either Ireland or the UK, then either national Met service can name. It was Met Éireann’s decision to name. For ease of communication it’s easier if we all work to the same system.”

The UK Met Office confirmed that an explosive cyclogenesis, or weather bomb, was forecast to take place over the Atlantic on Thursday. This is considered to have occurred when pressure drops by 24 millibars in 24 hours.

The Met Office stressed that by the time the latest system reached the UK on Saturday it was likely to be much weaker and would weaken further as it crossed the country.

A spokeswoman said meteorologists would be reviewing the warnings. “We are taking into consideration impacts that relate to rain as well as wind. There are also coastal impacts to consider because of a combination of high tides combined with wet and windy conditions.”

Two flood alerts for Cornwall and Dorset have been issued. Officials from the Environment Agency, which issues the warnings, urged the public to monitor its website.