The UK has woken up to heavy rain and 90mph winds as Storm Bram lands, with flooding and travel disruption expected today.
The Met Office issued amber and yellow weather warnings for strong winds and torrential rain in the western and northern parts of Britain, with flooding of roads and homes expected.
Fast-flowing and sudden flooding could cause danger to life, the forecaster warned.
Road conditions are likely to be treacherous until tomorrow as the storm sweeps across the UK.
Those travelling by train and bus today should brace for delays and cancellations in the worst-affected areas.
Where are the weather warnings in place?
The forecaster issued an amber rain warning for South West England, and south Wales. An amber wind warning is also in place in the Highlands.
Up to 75mm of rain is expected to wash out parts of Cornwall and Devon, with most of it landing in just nine hours, the Met Office warned.
The amber warnings – the second-highest category of alerts – are in place until 10am today.
Yellow wind warnings in England are active until 4pm today in the South West, while downpours are expected to ease slightly earlier in the North East, North West and Yorkshire regions.
Where is flooding expected?
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Met Office Chief Forecaster, Dan Suri, said: ‘Storm Bram will bring a very wet and windy spell of weather, with very strong winds and further heavy rain which falling over saturated ground, could cause flooding impacts.
‘Within the Amber wind warning over northwest Scotland, gusts of up to 90 mph could be recorded. More widely, gusts of 50-60 mph, and perhaps 70 mph in a few spots, are expected across Wales, southwest England and Northern Ireland.
‘Rain is an additional impact from Storm Bram, with the possibility of 100mm over higher ground in the south of Wales and parts of Devon. This could require updates to warnings, so it’s important to stay up to date with the forecast in your area, as well as any flood warnings from your local environment agency.’
Who named Storm Bram?
Storm Bram was named by Met Eireann, the Irish version of the Met Office, who work jointly with the Dutch and UK Met Offices to categorise and name storms.
Official names used in the UK are updated annually at the start of the autumn and winter storm season, generally running from early September until late August the following year.
The UK has used this system since 2015 to make communicating dangers from extreme weather simpler.
If a storm arrives here that has already been named by another country, such as a weakened hurricane, it will keep its original name to avoid confusion.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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