Storm BARBARA Prompts ‘Amber Warning’ for Scotland

Storm BARBARA forecast to impact Scotland

• A spell of very strong south to southwesterly winds is expected to develop on Friday [December 24, 2016.] Gusts of 80 mph [~ 130kmph] are likely quite widely, with westerly winds gusting to 90 mph likely across parts of western and northern Scotland later on Friday and overnight into Saturday. Winds will then ease on Saturday morning. —UK Met Office

Severe Weather Warning Issued for South of England

Worst Storm of the Year to Hit England Next Week

The UK Met Office has warned that a severe storm forecast for Monday has the potential to cause danger to life and widespread disruption in the south of England.

An amber warning for wind has been issued and there is also concern that heavy rain could cause flash flooding, on or about Monday, October 28, 2013.

The Met Office has warned people in the forecast area of strong winds adding that they “should be prepared for the risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures.”

Amber Warning for High Wind

“A very intense low pressure system is forecast to run northeastwards across the country early on Monday, bringing the potential for an exceptionally windy spell of weather for southern parts of the UK. At the same time, persistent, heavy rain could cause some surface water flooding.

“At this early stage there is uncertainty about the timing, intensity and track of the low. However, the public should be prepared for the risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures, bringing disruption to transport and power supplies.” The Met Office said.

“Amber warning” is the second most serious on the Met Office scale.

Exposed coastal areas in Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Hampshire, West Sussex, East Sussex, Kent, Surrey, Hampshire, Southampton, West Sussex, East Sussex, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, Brighton and Hove should expect wind gusts of up to 130 km/hr.

Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Greater London, Hampshire, Kent, Medway, Reading, Slough, Surrey, West Berkshire, West Sussex, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton have been issued with yellow alerts for high wind.

Yellow alerts are less severe than amber warnings.

Yellow Warning for Heavy Rain

Additionally, a yellow warning for rain on Monday has been issued for northern England, the Midlands, southern England and Wales warning people on those areas “of the potential for surface water flooding.”

The Met Office Chief Forecaster’s Assessment

“A strong, high-level jet is expected to engage warm low level air to give rise to a rapidly moving low pressure system later on Sunday. This is expected to run northeastwards, probably across England and Wales, with very strong winds on its southern and western flanks. There is the potential for gusts of over 80 mph, especially on exposed coasts, both in southwesterly winds ahead of the low and west to northwesterly winds behind it.”

Great Storm of 1987

The storm that occurred on October 15 – 16, 1987, mainly affected southeastern England and northern France. In England, maximum mean wind speeds of about 130 km/hr  uprooted 15 million trees and left at least 19 people dead.