The Met Office has named storm boelo, warning that it will bring wet and windy weather across the UK on Saturday and into Sunday. Yellow wind warnings are already in place for Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, with the strongest winds set to reach Scotland on Saturday afternoon.
Gusts are forecast to reach 50-65mph widely during Storm Boelo, with exposed places seeing up to 80mph. The same weather system is expected to keep poor travelling conditions going on faster roads and motorways because of surface water and spray.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
The Met Office has set yellow wind warnings for Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England on Saturday, and they will last most of Sunday. For Scotland, the strongest winds are expected to arrive on Saturday afternoon and peak overnight.
That follows Friday’s weather, when heavy rain in Scotland may cause localised flooding and a separate yellow warning carries 20-40mm of rain, with up to 80mm in a few areas through Friday. The UK is therefore moving from one spell of severe weather to another with little break between them.
England, Wales and France
Friday’s warnings are already broader. A yellow wind warning covers most of England and Wales, with gusts of 45-60mph and 70mph gusts likely in some places. Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Plymouth and parts of Devon are under an amber wind warning from 1am to 10am on Friday, with gusts of 60-70mph widely and perhaps 80mph in exposed locations.
South-west England is also facing Storm Austen during Friday morning, while north-west France could see gusts close to 90mph and the Channel Islands are expecting severe gales with gusts up to 80mph. Some ferry services to the Channel Islands have already been cancelled, leaving travel plans exposed before Storm Boelo arrives.
Saturday and Sunday in the UK
Storm Boelo is the second named storm in the forecast sequence, arriving one day after Storm Austen. The Met Office says the most damaging winds from Storm Austen will run to the south of the low pressure centre, putting France and the Channel Islands in the worst of it on Friday, before Boelo shifts the focus back across the UK over the weekend.
For readers in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, the practical step is to plan around the yellow warning window from Saturday into most of Sunday. Those in the wider UK face the same weather system on Saturday, but Scotland is the area named for the strongest winds moving in first and peaking overnight.
