A large Atlantic low pressure system, named Storm Brendan by the Irish meteorological service Met Éireann, will sweep eastwards across Ireland early on Monday, bringing very strong winds to many parts of the UK.

The Met Office has issued a yellow wind warning  for Monday afternoon and evening, this covering Northern Ireland and much of the western half of the UK, as well as northeast Scotland.

The strongest winds are expected around exposed coasts and hills. Here gusts of 60-70 mph are likely, with a few sites perhaps seeing gusts to 80 mph – especially around Irish Sea coasts and around the west coast of Scotland where the strongest winds are most likely. Gusts will be lower inland with 45-55 mph likely. A narrow band of squally heavy rain moving east, accompanying the strongest winds, may be an additional hazard.

Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Frank Saunders, said: “The UK and Ireland will turn increasingly windy on Monday, as Storm Brendan approaches, and there’ll also be some heavy rain.  It’s going to be particularly windy across the western half of the UK, with gusts reaching 60-70 mph along Irish Sea coastlines, the west of Scotland and perhaps some English Channel coasts – maybe even 80 mph  in a few exposed places. This is likely to cause some disruption to sea, road and air travel.
“As Storm Brendan moves eastwards, strong winds will also develop across eastern parts of the UK, particularly northeast Scotland where there is also a wind warning in place.”
“As well as strong winds, there will be large coastal waves in western areas, so bear this in mind before heading out in these regions.”

Commenting on the forecast for the rest of the week, Frank said: “It looks like it’s going to stay very unsettled, with the potential for further disruptive weather in places.”

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