Storm Agnes set to batter Scotland with 75mph winds in first named storm of season

Scotland is set to be battered by the first named storm of the autumn and winter season this week.

Storm Agnes is expected to bring strong gales and heavy rain when it blows up through the Irish Sea from the south-west of England on Wednesday.

Gusts of up to 75mph could hit inland areas, experts believe, disrupting travel links across the country.

Met Office forecasters have already issued a yellow weather warning for severe wind from Wednesday into Thursday morning.

A second warning covering heavy rainfall is in effect for parts of the south west, central and north east of the country between 9pm on Wednesday and 6am on Thursday.

Stock image of a woman's umbrella getting caught in a wind gust.

Scotland

Heavy rain causes disruption as ‘danger to life’ weather warning issued

Parts of Scotland were battered by heavy rain on Sunday causing travel disruption.

The 2023/24 storm season began on September 1, meaning the naming has returned back to the letter A.

Storm Antoni and Storm Betty hit parts of the UK in August, but both fell under the 22/23 period.

The Met Office said Agnes would bring with it a “small danger to life”.

STV weather presenter Philip Petrie explained Storm Agnes is the name that has been given to a deep area of low pressure moving north-eastwards across the country on Wednesday.

“Already we have a yellow weather warning issued for strong winds on Wednesday with gusts widely of 50-60mph, and a small chance of 80mph gusts around the coasts and on higher ground,” he said.

“Along with this we are expecting some heavy rainfall, so all in all a pretty stormy and potentially disruptive day to come during the middle of the week.

“Storm Agnes will be our first named storm of the new 2023-2024 storm naming season. During the last season we only got through Storm Antoni and Storm Betty of the storm naming alphabet, both occurring in August this year.”

“A deep area of low pressure is expected to approach southwest Ireland early on Wednesday, and track across northern parts of the UK before clearing early Thursday,” the Met Office said.

“There is some uncertainty on the precise track and depth of the low, however the most likely outcome at present is for a wide swathe of 50 to 60 mph gusts to affect inland areas, perhaps locally stronger over and to the lee of hills in the north.

“Some Irish Sea coasts could see gusts of 65 to 75 mph, with a small chance of 80 mph gusts on the most exposed coasts and headlands.”