Storm Kathleen to bring 70mph winds while parts of UK bask in 22C heat

Met Office chief meteorologist, Dan Suri, said: “Storm Kathleen will bring strong gusty winds to western areas of the UK through Saturday. Gusts of 50 to 60 mph are expected quite widely, while some exposed spots, particularly in coastal Northern Ireland, will see 60 to 70 mph gusts with large waves also expected.

“There will also be some blustery showers in the west with the eastern side of the UK seeing a drier and brighter day. With the winds coming from the south, some unseasonably warm air will be drawn across parts of the UK.

“When combined with sunny spells in East Anglia we could see temperatures reaching 21°C or 22°C for a time on Saturday. These temperatures are well above average for the time of year and the highest we’ve seen in the UK since last October.”

Southerly winds are expected to gust quite widely to 50-60mph on Saturday, while some exposed spots, particularly in Northern Ireland, will see gusts to 70mph with large waves also likely.

Met Office meteorologist Greg Dewhurst said: “Winds pick up further through Friday evening, overnight into Saturday, where as we start Saturday morning we’ll see widely across the country gusts of 30-40mph.

“In western parts of the UK, inland, we could see gusts of 40 to 50mph and then around the western coast of the UK we could see gusts of 60-70mph.”

The Met Office has warned that stronger gusts are more likely during Storm Kathleen in an update to its weather warning.

The forecaster issued a yellow weather warning for wind in western areas of the UK, including Northern Ireland, parts of Scotland and Wales, and the north-west and south-west of England from 8am to 10pm on Saturday.

On Friday the Met Office said in its update: “Stronger gusts are now expected across some parts of the warning area, with likelihood also increased.”

It warned of injuries and danger to life from “large waves and beach material being thrown on to sea fronts, coastal roads and properties”, adding “road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible”.

There could also be power cuts and mobile phone coverage could be affected.

The Republic of Ireland will see the “most disruptive” winds this weekend thanks to Storm Kathleen, however many areas are set to expect blustery conditions, the Met Office has said.

The Met Office has put new wind warnings in place from 8am to 10pm on Saturday.

• Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen
• Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible
• Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage
• Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties
• Some roads and bridges may close
• Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible

As this area of low pressure moves north-eastwards, it will be drawing up unseasonably warm air from Iberia for a time.

This warm air will see temperatures rise across the UK, causing some areas to see values above 20°C for the first time this year.

The locations likely to see the highest temperatures will be in parts of East Anglia and Southeast England where 21°C or 22°C is not out of the question briefly on Saturday.

Storm Kathleen has brought travel chaos to the A9, A85 and A889 routes in Scotland as the roads were covered in snow.

BEAR NW Trunk roads posted to social media saying: “Snow affecting the A9 Slochd and Drumochter and the A85 Glen Ogle just now.

“We have gritters out treating routes and dealing with any snow but please drive safe and take care.”

Met Éireann have issued a nationwide yellow wind warning for Saturday with orange level wind warnings coming into effect for counties Cork, Kerry, Galway and Mayo at 7am, valid until 5pm.

The rapid deepening of Storm Kathleen is due the interaction of this low-pressure system with a strong southerly jet stream.

The potential impacts of Storm Kathleen are likely to be:

• Very difficult travel conditions
• Fallen trees
• Some power outages
• Coastal flooding
• Wave overtopping

Deputy Head of Forecasting, Liz Coleman said: “It is the end of the Easter holidays so there will be a lot of people travelling and they may not be expecting such unseasonably strong and gusty winds.

“Please make sure to plan your journeys in advance by keeping in contact with the forecast. We are likely to see some trees down due to the saturated soils and strong winds. There will be dangerous conditions at sea too, coupled with wave overtopping and coastal flooding in some areas.”

The wet weather is causing travel chaos on the railway lines with services to Glasgow cancelled due to flooding.

ScotRail has said that services between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Shotts will be halted this morning following the issue.

The rail company wrote on X.com: “Due to flooding on the line, services between Glasgow and Edinburgh via Shotts will be cancelled this morning.

“The route is closed and Network Rail Scotland are on on site to rectify the situation as quickly as possible. We have requested buses.”

A Network Rail spokesperson added: “Due to reports of flooding on the line, the route via Shotts will be closed this morning.

“Staff will be on-site to monitor the situation closely and once we have a further update from teams on the ground.”