Exact date forecasters say next 'named Storm Debi' will hit the UK after Ciarán

03 November 2023 , 22:04

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Exact date forecasters say next 'named Storm Debi' will hit the UK after Ciarán

The exact date Britain will see its next storm has been revealed by forecasters.

Storm Debi - though not as yet officially named by the Met Office - could come hot on the heels of Storm Ciarán and before that Storm Babet. The UK is still reeling after days of torrential rain, flooding and 110mph winds caused major travel disruption. The weather service has issued a yellow warning for rain from 5am until the end of the day on Saturday, with heavy rain expected to cause further travel disruption. It covers all of southern England, southeastern coastal counties and parts of London.

The warning reads: "A spell of heavy rain early in the day clears northwards but is followed by fairly frequent heavy and blustery showers. These are likely to be focused in some southern and southeastern coastal counties by afternoon, with thunderstorms catching a few locations. Around 15-25 mm of rain will fall in some places but with perhaps 30-40 mm by the end of the day in coastal southeast England. Additional hazards could include large waves and spray along some southern coasts."

Weather warnings 3/11/23

Despite some reports, however, the Met Office denied rumours this new weather system will be named. It said the upcoming bluster is not likely to be strong enough, and amount to anything comparable to what the country has seen over the last few weeks. Though fellow forecaster British Weather Services said: "If Storm Ciarán doesn’t get you, Storm Debi might be next on Saturday."

In the UK, a storm will be named when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning. Speaking to Express.co.uk, Oli Claydon, a Met Office spokesman, said there is "no expectation" the storm will be named. He said: "Low pressure will influence the weather across the UK this weekend though the low pressure is nowhere near as deep as Storm Ciarán and there is no expectation that it will be named."

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Storm Ciaran left devastation across parts of the UK (Stephen Huntley/HVC)

Mr Claydon added that the weather is "not forecast to be anywhere near as severe as the last couple of days", with strong winds and rain expected to ease through the day. He continued: "The strong winds will continue to ease through today. Areas of rain will slowly become less persistent across northern and northeastern areas too."

"Elsewhere there will be some sunshine and a scattering of showers which could be heavy at times, predominantly in the West. Overnight patchy rain will continue in the far northeast with some showers in the west. Clear spells developing in places ahead of a band of rain spreading northeastwards from the southwest." After an Indian summer with balmy temperatures through September and early October, the country was hit by several weeks of stormy conditions. If Debi does arrive then it would mean three named storms in three weeks with the latter just 24 hours apart.

Regarding naming storms: "In the UK a storm will be named when it has the potential to cause disruption or damage which could result in an amber or red warning. This is based on our National Severe Weather Warnings service, which is a combination of both the impact the weather may have, and the likelihood of those impacts occurring.

"Storms will usually be named on the basis of the impacts from strong winds, but the impacts of other weather types will also be considered. For example rain, if its impact could lead to flooding as advised by the Environment Agency, SEPA and Natural Resources Wales flood warnings, or snow. Therefore 'storm systems' could be named on the basis of impacts from the wind but also include the impacts of rain and snow."

Ryan Merrifield