Met Office says Storm Ashley ‘likely’ to cause danger to life with 80mph winds

Storm Ashley is likely to cause injury and risk to life when it batters parts of the UK with 80mph winds this weekend, the Met Office has warned.

It has issued an amber weather warning for the north-west of Scotland on Sunday, with forecasters saying ‘injuries and danger to life is likely from large waves and beach material being thrown onto coastal roads, sea fronts and properties’.

There is also ‘a good chance’ of power cuts in that area which could affect mobile phone coverage and buildings will probably be damaged, such as by tiles blowing off roofs.

Disruption or cancellations to road, rail, air and ferry services are likely, as well as road and bridge closures.

There is also a yellow warning for the entirety of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and parts of north-west England and Wales.

Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern said on Friday evening: ‘At the time of recording, Storm Ashley is on the other side of the Atlantic and a relatively shallow area of low pressure.

‘It deepens rapidly as it gets picked up by the jet stream during Saturday and ends up as a particularly deep area of low pressure, with a widespread swathe of gales and wind gusts in excess of 60mph for many western and northern parts of the country.’

Clouds will thicken and wind will strengthen in the early hours of Sunday, and outbreaks of rain will hit Northern Ireland and the west of the UK, he said.

That rain will be heavy at times and accompanied by gales as the strong winds start, he added.

Western parts of the UK could wake up to 50mph to 60mph winds and heavy rain that day, particularly affecting exposed coasts and hills.

Sunday’s strongest winds will sweep exposed parts of Northern Ireland and western Scotland, with 70mph gusts likely.

They could reach 80mph ‘or perhaps a fraction more’ in parts of western Scotland, Mr McGivern added.

He said: ‘Those kinds of wind gusts could cause considerable disruption, damage to buildings, transport disruptions of the ferry crossings, for example.

‘And also the risk to coastal communities of flooding because these winds coincide with high tides, so that risk is especially great.’

He added that the winds will continue through Sunday and peak in the evening.

Storm Ashley is expected to clear on Monday.