The Met Office has issued a 21-hour yellow weather warning for wind, covering 42 areas across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, as a third storm named Storm Chloe could approach the UK within the next 48 hours.
The warning comes into force at 3am on Tuesday and remains in place until midnight, affecting Scotland, northeastern Northern Ireland and parts of northern England. Winds are expected to exceed 70mph, with the Met Office warning of "damaging gusts" and transport disruption.
Storm Chloe could develop into significant weather event
Storm Chloe would follow Storm Austen and the much stronger Storm Boelo, which have battered the UK and Ireland over the past three days, bringing torrential rain, flooding and damaging winds.
Cathal Nolan of Ireland's Weather Channel said in his latest forecast that the next storm depression is "already winding itself up" and is expected to develop into another significant storm over the next 48 hours. He noted that while strong and gusty winds are expected on Monday with spells of heavy rain, it will not be quite as intense as Storm Boelo, which was the strongest of the two storms so far.
Nolan added: "If this is to be named a storm as we go through tomorrow and into Tuesday, it's likely to be named by the UK Met Office. The very strongest of the winds will be across the northwest of Scotland. If it is to be named a storm it will be of course called Storm Chloe. And otherwise, beyond that it looks like our weather actually settles down."
Impact of recent storms and current warnings
Storm Austen and Storm Boelo brought a number of weather warnings across the UK, with six in place over the weekend, including an amber warning for wind. The heavy rain and strong winds have caused damaged buildings, flooding, thousands left without power, and severe public transport disruption.
The last of the current weather warnings are set to expire at 9pm today. The Met Office has not yet commented on the possibility of Storm Chloe developing in the coming days.
The yellow warning for Tuesday covers areas including Durham, Gateshead, Newcastle upon Tyne, Northumberland, Cumbria in England; County Antrim, County Down and County Londonderry in Northern Ireland; and numerous Scottish regions including Angus, Fife, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Highland and the Orkney Islands.
