Storm Ellen: When the next storm could hit the UK as more bad weather batters the country
The UK has recently seen a swathe of wet and windy weather first brought by Storm Ciara, and then followed Storm Dennis.
Further bad weather conditions are now forecast to hit the UK, with reports that the next storm on the list - Storm Ellen - could be on its way.
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But what is the weather set to be like this weekend and what weather warnings are currently in place?
This weekend’s weather
The Met Office UK outlook for Thursday (20 Feb) forecasts, "Rain, some heavy, moving east along with squally winds, followed by colder conditions with sunny intervals and scattered showers.
“Showers possibly heavy with hail and falling as snow at times in the north and over hills further south.
"Wintry showers easing leaving clear spells and a touch of frost in places, but further wet and windy weather following across northern areas."
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Friday (21 Feb) will be a windy day with gales in places, notably in northern England with some gusts of 60-70 mph. It will be mainly dry and bright in the south, but rain further north, particularly over hills.
"Through the weekend very strong winds, sunny spells and wintry showers will affect the north, patchy rain will affect the south. Further rain and strong winds spread east through Monday," adds the Met Office.
Grahame Madge, a Met Office spokesman, said: “We have a potentially impactful low-pressure system developing in the North Atlantic for Monday, but neither the Met Office nor our Irish partner have considered naming this system, based on the current evidence.
“The centre of this low-pressure system is forecast to pass to the north of the Scottish mainland, but it’s exact track and development remains uncertain at this time.
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“Storm Ellen is the next name in the list and would be used for any system which meets the storm naming threshold, but currently there are no plans to name.”
Weather warnings in place
A yellow Met Office weather warning for rain is in place from 6am to 9pm on Friday (21 Feb), covering Central, Tayside & Fife, Highlands & Eilean Siar, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, and Strathclyde.
The Met Office said: “Persistent and sometimes heavy rain is expected across the western and central Highlands along with southern Scotland on Friday.”
A yellow weather warning for wind is in place from 8am until 8pm on Friday, covering North East England, SW Scotland, Lothian Borders, and Yorkshire & Humber.
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The Met Office said: “Strong and gusty west to southwesterly winds are expected across northeast England and parts of southeast Scotland during Friday with gusts of 55-65 mph in places.”
A yellow warning for rain is also in place from 12pm on Friday (21 Feb) until 6am on Saturday (22 Feb), covering Yorkshire & Humber.
What to expect from this weather warning:
- There is a small chance that homes and businesses could be flooded, causing damage to some buildings- Spray and flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and some road closures- Where flooding occurs, there is a slight chance of delays or cancellations to train and bus services