The Met Office has named the first storm of the season, with Storm Austen set to sweep across parts of the UK late on Thursday and into Friday, bringing very strong winds and heavy rain.
Experts have said Storm Austen will bring "the greatest risk of disruptive weather to southern and southwestern areas". An amber wind warning has been issued for the whole of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of West Devon from 3am to 10am on Friday.
Warnings in place across the UK
A wider yellow warning for wind remains in place from Thursday evening into Friday and has been updated as confidence in the storm's track and strength increases. Another yellow wind warning covers parts of southern and eastern Scotland for Friday and into Saturday morning.
Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Chris Bulmer said: "Storm Austen is expected to bring a spell of impactful weather to parts of the UK from Thursday night and through Friday. While there remains some uncertainty in the exact track of the storm, there is increasing confidence in the potential for disruptive winds across parts of southwest England, which is why an Amber warning has been issued."
Wind gusts and full storm list
Bulmer added: "Winds gusts could potentially reach 60-70 mph for a time, and these strong winds will be combined with spells of heavy rain. People in affected areas should keep up to date with the latest forecast and warnings as the event develops."
The Met Office confirms the list of storms for the year ahead every September. Following Austen, any subsequent storms will be named Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna, and Wende.
There were seven named storms during the 2025/26 season. Storm names never begin with Q, U, X, Y or Z.
