Met Office warns 'strongest winds of the year' so far possible along with potential for named storm

A graphic of the jet stream with a caption saying '250mph' and a weather forecaster stood next to it
-Credit:BBC Weather


The Met Office has warned people to prepare for the "strongest winds of the year" with potential for the next named storm. As the cold wave that is sweeping across America heads eastwards it is set to strengthen the jet stream with winds of up to 250mph across the Atlantic.

Forecasters in the UK are warning that this could bring some "disruptive" weather by the end of the week. The next named storm would be Storm Éowyn – pronounced Eh-oh-wyn – and would be the first of 2025.

The Met Office says: "A powerful jet stream will develop above the North Atlantic this week with perhaps the strongest winds of the winter so far. This means a return to wet and windy conditions in the UK by Friday with some disruptive weather likely." Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here.

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BBC Weather forecasters say: "The Atlantic jet stream reaches extraordinary strength next week with 250mph winds. Some very quick flights travelling between the US and UK with these tailwinds. This powerful jet stream develops an intense low with gusts over 100mph over the sea to the west of the UK."

Met Office map showing area of low pressure heading across the Atlantic
Met Office map showing area of low pressure heading across the Atlantic -Credit:Met Office

BBC forecaster Chris Fawkes said: "North America has been experiencing some very cold weather and that will work its way into the Atlantic and it will power up an extremely powerful jet stream. One of the strongest I have ever seen.

"There will be 250mph winds in this beast and that is going to mean some very quick aeroplane journeys crossing the Atlantic. It will also power an incredibly deep area of low pressure. The low will have in excess of 100mph in it. Thankfully it looks like the strongest winds will stay away from our shores but we will have to keep a close eye on it. There will be a general pick-up of winds and some gales around on Friday and heavy rain and it will start some very unsettled conditions for the last week of January."

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The Met Office long-range forecast for Thursday, January 23, to Saturday, February 1, says: "A transition to a rather more changeable and at times unsettled weather pattern is likely to occur during the first few days of this period. Outbreaks of rain and freshening winds will probably make inroads from the southwest during Thursday ahead of conditions more widely becoming wetter and windier by the weekend."

It adds: "A return to periods of rain followed by showers, often accompanied by strong winds, looks likely for the rest of the month with the potential for weather warnings or even a named storm at some point before the month is out. Temperatures at least should recover in most places ending up near average or even a little above though admittedly not feeling like it at times."