Met Office warning as Bonfire Night weekend could see third storm in 3 weeks

04 November 2023 , 05:00

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Met Office warning as Bonfire Night weekend could see third storm in 3 weeks

The UK could be hit by its third storm in as many weeks over Bonfire Night weekend - with the as yet unofficially named Storm Debi on the cards.

The Met Office is yet to name the storm - which would 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 and widespread devastation. 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."

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for Saturday

However, beyond that, things may start to settle down. Frank Saunders, Chief Forecaster for the Met Office, said: “After the events of this week, the forecast is moving into a period of fairly typical autumnal weather, with breezy conditions and spells of rain and showers, interspersed with some clearer and brighter periods.

"We still have warnings in the forecast, partly because the ground is already so wet but overall conditions are expected to be less impactful than we’ve seen over the last few days. Aside from scattered showers in the north and west of the UK, Bonfire Night (Sunday) will be largely dry and settled, although temperatures will be dipping compared with values last week."

Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts

The Met Office has played down the possibility of Storm Debi

Despite some reports, the Met Office also 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: "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."

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.

Ryan Merrifield