Storm Darragh named

Storm Darragh, the third named storm in three weeks, has been named.

The system is expected to develop to our west on Friday, with its centre then moving across Ireland and northern England before it slows down late on Saturday while moving south-east to Belgium.

This storm track is rather unusual as most Atlantic systems tend to move southwest-northeast. Storm Darragh means different issues for different parts of the UK and Ireland through the next couple of days.

The biggest impacts are likely to result from strong winds and severe coastal gales. At the same time, heavy rain may bring the risk of some flooding across parts of Wales in particular, with more than 50 mm falling here through early Sunday. Higher parts of Scotland and northern England could see some snow at times.

While winds will first be mainly from a southerly or southwesterly direction, the strongest gusts are likely to be from the northwest or north which happens less often. This means that there may be more disruption from e.g. falling trees as they are more susceptible to suffer damage with winds from that direction.

The long period of high winds is also likely to cause rising water levels along many coasts, first around the Irish Sea and the Bristol Channel, then chiefly along North Sea coasts from Lincolnshire to Kent later on. Large waves and high sea water levels may cause some flooding and isolated damage in prone areas.

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.