Ashley to bring strong winds & flooding

Storm Ashley has officially been named, set to hit the UK and Ireland on Sunday 20th October with strong winds, heavy rain and a flood risk.

The first named storm of the season is set to arrive this weekend, named by Met Éireann in Ireland, with weather warnings widely in force.

Storm Ashley is an unusually deep area of low pressure, expected to undergo explosive cyclogenesis early in the weekend, whereby the central pressure drops at least 24 mb in 24 hours, indicative of rapid strengthening.

Western portions including Ireland, particularly the west coast will bear the brunt of the strong winds, seeing gusts reach around 80 mph from Belmullet down to Skibbereen, perhaps locally higher in some spots here, with even inland gusts reaching 60 - 65 mph.

Irish Sea coasts of the UK will also see gusts of 50 - 60 mph, again with inland and eastern areas seeing gusts up to 40 mph.

These strong, gale-force winds will also be coinciding with high spring tides of the supermoon, with large waves and coastal surge possible, bringing a flood risk to low-lying coastal locations.

Along side that, heavy rain will also be pushing in, with some thundery downpours possible further west once the main band clears through, exacerbating a flooding risk in these areas too.

With many trees still in full leaf during this time of year, impacts from strong winds are likely to be greater.

This is because the leaves on the trees act like sails, increasing the tree's surface area exposed to those strong winds and with less through-flow and a greater resistance.