As Atlantic depressions keep rolling in, storm Dudley arrives today as the first named storm of the week. It'll be closely followed by Eunice on Friday.
Updated at 1049 on Wednesday 16th as the Met Office has updated their warnings.
The Atlantic depressions keep coming, with two named storms moving through in the next few days. Today's storm 'Dudley' comes with Met Office yellow and amber warnings of high winds from Wales and the Midlands northward to central Scotland, with strongest gusts through southern Scotland and northern England. Storm 'Eunice' expected by Friday has also prompted an amber Met Office warning of high winds, this time further South across a swathe of England and Wales.
Today starts mainly dry over England and Wales with sunny intervals in eastern parts for a while, but most regions eventually see some rain in a very fast-moving situation. This'll become heavy in the North and persistent, but in the South and South East, much of the day should be dry. Winds are already freshening, and as storm 'Dudley' crosses to the North of Scotland later, it's the wind that'll be the primary concern.
Gusts of 60 to 70mph are likely later across Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and northern England and in exposed areas, gusts above 80mph are possible. Some disruption to travel is expected later, with fallen trees, structural damage and power outages as additional hazards.
It'll also be cold enough for snow over the hills of North Scotland and in the far North, where temperatures will struggle to reach 4 or 5C. In complete contrast, 'Dudley' will also be fuelled in a very strong Jet Stream by unusually mild conditions for February over England and Wales.
Here temperatures will reach 13 to 15C generally but could get as high as 16 or maybe even 17C over parts of East and South to the lee of high ground. But even here, a South Westerly wind will become strong to gale force, giving gusts in excess of 50mph in exposed areas, although any rain later across the South should be mostly light and patchy.
After dark, a short spell of heavier rain soon clears to the South, but the weather remains just as wild into a stormy evening. Further damaging gusts in excess of 60 or 70mph are likely in blustery showers across the North that'll fall as snow on Scottish hills. Further South, there should be fewer showers with some moderation in the storm later in the night, but 'Dudley' will still be 'packing a punch' as winds from the West remain strong to gale in most parts, even by morning. While feeling colder, it remains mild in the South, with the lowest temperatures 2 to 5C in the North and 6 to 8C elsewhere.
Thursday will be brighter with sunny spells developing, but there'll be a fair scattering of blustery showers quickly passing through on a strong to gale force Westerly wind. Some of the showers will be heavy at first and wintry over Scottish hills, but they should become fewer during the afternoon as winds decrease further towards dusk. It'll feel colder, making it less mild in the South, but temperatures here should still reach 8 to 11C, with 5 to 7C more likely further North.
A brief lull into the evening brings clearer skies when it'll turn cold enough for a touch of frost, mainly in the North. But it won't be long before 'Eunice' arrives, bringing increasingly stormy, wet weather to probably all but Scotland overnight. As the storm deepens, rapidly damaging gales give storm force gusts in excess of 60-80mph. This'll be accompanied by spells of heavy, driving rain that will turn to snow on hills from the Pennines northward. But in the South, it'll be turning milder again, with the lowest temperatures between about zero and +4C beforehand.
