The Met Office has issued an amber weather warning in south-western parts of the UK with winds as strong as 70mph possible due to the first named storm of the season.
The first storm of the autumn has been named as Storm Austen, with the warning coming into force from 3am until 10am on Friday for Cornwall and parts of Devon.
An amber weather warning for wind has been issued across Cornwall and Devon, with a the Met Office issuing a risk to life from large waves and strong gales.
Further parts of England and south Wales are under a yellow weather warning. Damage to buildings and transport networks is likely, as is the possibility of power cuts.
Storm Austin is expected to move away by Friday evening, but the wet weather will continue into Saturday.
Following a record-breakingly dry summer, the Met Office has predicted higher chances of strong winds and heavy rainfall for the rest of autumn and winter.
This is partly due to the El Niño climate phenomenon, a periodic warming in ocean temperatures in the Pacific that affects weather patterns across the globe.
As we move into autumn – the peak season for named storms – the Government has launched a new taskforce to prepare the UK for the potentially tumultuous weather ahead.
This week’s forecast
Rainy weather is continuing to push across Scotland, moving eastwards across England and Wales. It will be windy across the country, with a risk of coastal gales.
Monday will see clouds and patches of rain across the north and the east, with sunnier spells in the north and Scotland and showers in the south-west.
Cloud and patchy drizzle across the north will clear overnight, with showers spreading into parts of England and Wales.
Unsettled and rainy conditions will continue across much of the UK throughout the rest of the week with showers and longer spells of rain affecting all areas, and the chance of gales and heavy rainfall from Thursday.
An amber and yellow severe weather warning for wind has been issued for in the south west of Wales and England on Friday between midnight and 12pm, with the possibility of winds up to 70mph in exposed coastal locations.
Met Office deputy chief forecaster Tom Crabtree said: “An area of the forecast we’re particularly focusing on is the development of a potentially deep area of low pressure that could cross the UK overnight on Thursday and through Friday.
“It has the potential to bring some strong winds, though the location of the strongest winds will be determined by the low position. At this stage, people should keep an eye on the forecast and be prepared for some unsettled weather at the end of the week.”
When will we see our next named storm?
Named storms in the UK are usually seen in late autumn, with the first named storm arriving after 1 November in about half of the years since 2015. Storm Amy arrived in early October last year, bringing heavy rain and gales across the country, and leaving tens of thousands of homes without power.
As temperatures around polar regions starts to fall, the contrast with the warmer tropics can produce a more potent jet stream – the narrow band of fast winds high in the atmosphere. This can then increase the chances of a named storm.
So far this year, the Deep Atlantic low pressure responsible for more turbulent conditions has been kept at bay by dominant areas of high pressure.
If the UK Met Office or Ireland’s Met Éireann expect this week’s conditions to escalate to an amber level or higher, then the chances of a named storm will increase. If the storm is named, it will be called “Storm Austen”.
The UK’s last named storm, storm Dave in early April, was the most severe April windstorm since storm naming was introduced in autumn 2015, bringing winds as strong as 93mph in some areas.
Storm names for 2026-27
The list of storm names start from A and continue alphabetically, with each cycle running from early September to late August.
Here are the names for the next cycle as set by the Met Office, Met Éireann and Dutch forecaster KNMI – none of which have been used yet. Not all are used every year.
Austen, Boelo, Chloe, Dano, Evelyn, Finn, Gwendolyn, Heather, Ivy, Jade, Kilian, Laoise, Miriam, Nicola, Olaf, Phelim, Ruban, Shaun, Theo, Vesna, Wendy
Names starting with Q, U, X, Y and Z are not included, keeping in line with the US National Hurricane Centre’s naming convention.
The Impact of El Niño
Forecasters have warned that this year’s El Niño could impact the likelihood of stormy conditions across the UK. The Met Office has predicted this year’s event to be the strongest “in living memory”.
The Met Office currently forecasts double the normal chance of wetter weather and 1.3 times the normal chance of windier weather in October, November and December.
“El Niño typically increases the likelihood of wetter and stormier conditions in the UK during late autumn and early winter, though its precise influence on this year’s weather will become clearer as forecasts evolve,” the agency said.
UK preparing for flooding
The increased threat of stormy conditions has prompted the Government to launch this month a new taskforce for extreme weather, with an initial focus on preparing the nation for potential flooding this winter.
6.3 million homes and businesses are at risk of flooding in England, according to the Environment Agency (EA), with more than 218,000 homes at a high risk of flooding from rivers and seas, and 827,000 at risk of surface water flooding.
The taskforce, named the Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce, is led by floods and drought minister Emma Hardy with representatives from over 50 organisations, including the EA, Met Office, Fire and Rescue Services, and farming and water industries.
A target has been set to provide 200,000 properties with better flood protection up to 2028-29 via a range of measures, including flood defences and natural methods like rain gardens.
Hardy said: “This Government has ambitious targets and historic investment to support the country against severe weather. Our new Flood and Drought Resilience Taskforce will put communities and businesses at the heart of our defence plans, while our £4.2bn investment in new and existing flood defences will protect even more people over the coming years.”
Flash flooding and heavy downpours cause deaths in Spain
The increased threat from extreme weather is fast becoming a reality across Europe. On Monday, Spanish authorities said Four people were killed in severe floods triggered by torrential rainfall across the weekend. Tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate.
The downpour from Storm Adam, which started on Saturday, saw as much as 700 litres of rain (185 gallons) per square metre pour down over 24 hours in some areas of the Valencia region. In the same area, catastrophic flooding killed more than 230 people two years ago.
Floodwaters have since isolated several towns along the Mediterranean coast, while rivers have burst their banks and streets have turned into torrents.
The storm is confirmed to have killed four people: two in the coastal resort of Oliva, a third at a beach in Sagunto, and a fourth who fell into a swollen stream in Catalonia.