Storm Ciarán: Met Office 5-day weather forecast - when is the next storm coming to the UK?

As the dust settles from Storm Babet two weeks ago, the UK is being hammered by Storm Ciarán, which brings a deluge of heavy rain and severe gusts of wind. Many portions of the country are now marked with "danger to life" warnings in yellow, amber, and even red.

The storm has been lashing the British Isles and the Channel Islands, subjecting them to fierce winds and drenching rain, resulting in the closure of hundreds of schools and the cancellation of numerous train and flight services. On Thursday, the Met Office upgraded its amber alert for the southeast, revealing wind speeds of up to 90 mph battering Sussex and Kent.

In Cornwall, more than 8,500 households are grappling with power outages, as reported by local councils. The impact of the storm hit even harder in Jersey, where one unfortunate resident had her roof ripped off. 

Amber and yellow wind warnings are in effect from Wednesday night to the end of Thursday, covering large areas of England and Wales. A yellow rain warning has also been issued for northeast England and southeast Scotland from Thursday morning until early Friday.

Jersey Met has escalated concerns by declaring a red wind warning, signifying the highest level of alert. The dire forecast for Wednesday evening into Thursday warns residents to stay indoors as gusts of nearly 100mph are predicted, underscoring the gravity of the impending storm.

When is the next storm coming to the UK?

Many people are now left wondering if the UK could be hit by another devastating storm, despite the Met Office saying that Storm Ciarán is "fairly normal". The Met Office said: “Storm Ciarán is a fairly normal Autumn storm for the UK, and due to the natural year-to-year variability in strong winds and windstorm numbers, significant trends have not been detected in observations over the recent climate.

“However, there is evidence in climate projections to suggest that the frequency and intensity of windstorms in the UK winter could slightly increase, although the scale of this change varies between different models.”

There is currently no sign of a storm headed into the UK following Storm Ciarán, according to the forecast, as the storm is predicted to weaken as we approach the weekend. 

UK 5-day forecast

Thursday (November 2): Windy overnight with further outbreaks of rain developing in most areas, as a weakening Storm Ciarán remains close by in the North Sea. Some clear spells develop across the far south and west, especially later in the night.

Friday (November 3): The strong winds will gradually moderate on Friday. Areas of rain will slowly ease across northern and northeastern areas. Elsewhere there will be some sunshine and a scattering of showers.

Outlook for Saturday (November 4)  to Monday (November 6): The north will have sunshine and showers on Saturday, whilst further wet and windy weather affects England and Wales. Mostly fine in the east thereafter, although blustery showers further west.