Storm Austen to batter southern Britain

Storm Austen, the first named storm of the 2026-27 season, is set to bring disruption on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th October. Damaging winds and heavy rain are the main hazards, with the most severe gusts expected across parts of southern Britain.

Storm track still firming up

The broad track of the storm has been well signalled for several days, but the finer details are still uncertain. Austen is expected to move east across, or close to, the southern counties, and even small shifts in its path will make a big difference to local conditions.

The strongest winds will be on the storm's southern flank, although its western side will also be very windy.

Storm Austen based on Météo-France Arpege 06Z run

Stormiest in the south west?

There are many computer models, so there are still notable differences in the details. The animations below show forecast wind gusts from the Met Office UKV model. Values of over 70mph are shown on Friday morning in south western coastal locations, with the strongest winds transferring eastwards across the English Channel and southern coastal counties through the rest of the day.

Forecast wind gusts by UKV model

Gust speeds inland are lower, but across a large part of the UK, speeds of 40mph to 50mph are likely throughout the day.

Disruptive heavy rain

Heavy rain is expected, with the highest totals likely in southern and eastern Scotland and southwest Britain. The UKV chart shows forecast rainfall totals (mm) between 03:00 on Wednesday 21st October and 00:00 on Saturday 24th October. However, some of this rain will fall before Storm Austen arrives. 

Weather warnings issued

At the time of publication, the Met Office has issued yellow and amber wind warnings for Friday 23rd October. The amber warning covers the western half of the southwest peninsula.

The Met Office amber warning states, "There is a good chance that gusts of 60-70 mph will develop widely for a time with perhaps some gusts around 80 mph for exposed headlands. Very strong winds will be combined with spells of heavy rain." Meanwhile, the broader yellow warning notes, "Gusts of 50-60 mph are likely and some coastal or exposed areas could see 70 mph or more, this more likely over parts of southwest England. Ahead of this, a spell of southerly winds with gusts of 50-60 mph will move east along the south coast of England during Thursday night. Winds will slowly ease during Friday afternoon."

A warning for heavy rain is also in force for parts of Scotland on Saturday 24th October. Warnings can change at short notice, so be sure to check the latest Met Office UK weather warnings.

The first real autumn storm

The first half of meteorological autumn was mostly calm and warm, especially across the southern half of the UK, so Storm Austen will come as a shock to the system. With a strong El Niño tending to favour wet and windy spells in late autumn and early winter, there could be plenty more to come.