Weather updates from site founder Brian Gaze that keep you in the know.
Storm Ophelia is pulling away but we'll only have a brief respite before wet and windy weather returns. There will be some rain around in the next 36 hours and on Thursday another area of low pressure pushes in from the Atlantic. However the main action is expected to be on Saturday and we could have the second named storm of the season.
A few people have asked me whether Ophelia was the second named storm of the season. No, because it was named by the National Weather Service (NWS) in the USA long before it reached out shores. It can lead to confusion but the UK Met Office / Met Eire operate a storm naming system independently. As I understand it they only name low pressure areas that haven't been named by NWS. Hurricanes and tropical storms are picked up by NWS so that primarily leaves low pressure systems forming at mid latitudes in the Atlantic. I'll stand corrected if you know otherwise.
The next name on the UK Met Office / Met Eire list is my namesake Brian. It looked as though a system worthy of that fine name -:) would make an appearance a couple of weeks ago but it fizzled. Therefore the name remains unclaimed. Computer model runs are suggesting that may not be the case for much longer as an Atlantic area of low pressure deepens rapidly on Friday before reaching the UK on Saturday.
The chart below shows what could be Storm Brian centred over the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. It looks like quite potent system which will gradually weaken as it drifts northeastwards over the UK.
GFS 06z pressure and 500hPa heights, Sat 21/10
The strongest winds are shown in south western England and western Wales early on Saturday where they approach 80mph. During the course of the morning gusts of between 50mph and 60mph extend across much of southern and central Britain. At this stage the details remain uncertain and it's possible the system could either fade or be more energetic as it reaches the UK.
The rest of the week is looking unsettled. On Friday and Saturday a low pressure area is expected to rapidly deepen in the Atlantic. It has the potential to bring very strong winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK with southern and central regions probably in the firing line. There's a reasonable chance of this becoming named Storm Brian.
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