The UK is bracing itself for strong winds and gales this coming weekend, as Storm Kathleen rolls in from the west. The impacts of the storm will be felt widely from Saturday, particularly in Northern Ireland, southern Scotland, and parts of western England and Wales. Met Éireann, the Irish met service, named the storm because it expects that it will have more notable impacts in the Republic of Ireland. During the period, strong south-westerly winds will bring about the warmest day of the year so far.
The UK Met Office has cautioned that severe weather warnings, encoded yellow, will be valid from 08:00 to 22:00 on Saturday. It has anticipated gusts of 50mph (80km/h) to be widespread, while more exposed coastal areas could experience blasts of up to 70mph (113km/h). Large waves are also expected.
The low-pressure weather system 500 miles (800 km) west of Portugal underwent explosive cyclogenesis around Thursday night. Such rapid deepening of a low-pressure system results in the formation of a storm system, thus named Kathleen. Over the coming days, Kathleen will progress in development as it moves northwards to the west of Ireland.
Due to the ongoing Easter school holidays, people might be travelling or away over the weekend, thereby potentially increasing the sensitivity to strong winds. Disruptions such as delays or cancellations on ferries, bridge restrictions, and traffic disruptions could occur. The Met Office advises being ready for longer journey times and slight possibilities of power outages. Most of the rain accompanying the low-pressure weather system will materialize between Thursday night and Saturday.
Notably, the strong south-westerly winds could drag in very mild or warm tropical air, making Saturday possibly the warmest day of the year thus far. Temperatures of 21 or 22 degrees Celsius could be achieved in eastern England, whereas further north and west, temperatures of between 13 and 16 degrees Celsius will be experienced.
Storm Kathleen is the 11th storm named during the 2023-24 season, which ranks as the stormiest period since storm-naming started in 2015. Moreover, April storms are unusual; since 2015, there has only been one UK-named storm in April, named Storm Hannah in 2019. It was a wet winter in the UK, and this year has also started wet, causing the ground to be saturated and sensitive to further rainfall
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