Storm Darragh is expected to bring powerful winds and significant disruption to many parts of the UK and Ireland Friday night into Saturday.

Rare red warnings have been issued by both the UK Met Office and the Irish Met Éireann, the highest official warning levels, meaning significant disruption and damage to infrastructure is likely in the worst affected areas.

The deepening area of low pressure can clearly be seen over the Atlantic west of Ireland and is expected to move east-northeast across Ireland and northern England before it continues south-east to the Benelux countries.

The biggest impacts are likely to result from unusually strong winds, particularly in Ireland, as well as coastal parts of Wales and Southwest England. At the same time, heavy rain may bring the risk of some flooding across parts of Wales in particular, with 40 to 80 mm falling here through early Sunday.

There are two key things to keep in mind in terms of impacts: One is the unusual wind direction as the most powerful winds will often be from a northwesterly or northerly direction. This means that there may be more disruption from e.g. falling trees as they are more susceptible to suffer damage.

Another feature of this weather system is its longevity. The gales will last for a relatively long period which may exacerbate disruption on roads and railways, whilst power supply and mobile phone communication may also be affected.

Other impacts will be from large waves which may cause some flooding and isolated damage in prone areas around some Welsh and English coasts around the times of high tide through Sunday.

Heavy snow will meanwhile become an issue across higher parts of Scotland, with up to 15 cm possible for a time early on Saturday.

Be sure to check back for further updates or changes to the forecast. See how the storm will affect where you are on the WindRadar.