Unsettled Weather This Week Ahead Of Storm Dennis

Named by the Met Office, Storm Dennis will bring heavy rain and widespread strong winds to many parts of the UK on Saturday and Sunday, though the impacts are not expected to be as extreme as Storm Ciara last weekend.

The system will develop in the North Atlantic before tracking eastwards towards the UK and Ireland over the coming days, passing to the north of Scotland on Saturday. National Severe Weather Warnings for wind and rain have been issued for many parts of the UK this weekend.

Paul Gundersen, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office said: “Another spell of very wet and windy ​weather is expected for Saturday. Although Storm Dennis is currently not expected to be as severe as Ciara, disruption is still likely. Our confidence in the forecast means we have been able to issue severe weather warnings well in advance, giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm.

“With further warnings possible over the next few days people should keep up to date with the Met Office forecast using our website, app or by following us on social media.”

Over the weekend wind gusts will widely exceed 50mph, even across some inland areas, with gusts of over 60mph possible over hills, coastal areas and exposed locations. While these winds have the potential to bring impacts they are not as strong as the gusts we saw last weekend with Storm Ciara, when a gust of 97mph was recorded on the Isle of Wight.

Heavy rain is also expected and with already saturated ground, there is a risk of further flooding over the weekend. Storm Dennis is expected to bring a range of impacts, including delays and cancellations to transport services, damage to power supplies and large coastal waves.

You can get the most accurate and up to date forecast for your area using our forecast pages and by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as using our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.