Storm Darragh: How strong are the winds? What's the strongest wind recorded in the UK?

The red alert warns of danger to life and is not often issued. About 3m people in affected areas - the Wales coastline and south-west England were sent an emergency alert by the government last night to mobile phones. This was the largest alert sent out yet.

The Met Office has said that in Wales gusts of 93mph were recorded overnight at Capel Curig in North Wales and 92mph in Aberdaron on the Llyn Peninsula, while in north Devon 89mph has been reported early Saturday morning at Liscombe. The Needles on the Isle of Wight has recorded wind speeds of 77mph.

Tom Morgan of the Met Office said that as of 7am the storm was at its peak, but higher wind speed totals are still “possible” later in the morning.

The centre of the storm, meaning winds are calmer, was across north-east England.

What are the strongest winds recorded in the UK?

Two-and-a-half years ago, in mid February 2022, Storm Eunice saw the highest recorded storm wind speed, when a gust of 122mph was registered at the Needles Old Battery on the west coast of the Isle of Wight.

Like Darragh, Storm Eunice also saw red warnings issued, this time not just in south-west England and south Wales but also across London and the south east of England. Eunice’s winds were the strongest since the Great Storm of October 1987 - often but technically incorrectly dubbed the hurricane - when 115mph was recorded at Shoreham-by-Sea in West Sussex.

The strongest wind ever recorded in the UK was not during a storm. The top of the Cairngorms in the Scottish Highlands recorded 173mph in March 1986. According to the BBC, the highest non-mountainous wind gust was in February 1989 in Fraserburgh, Aberdeenshire, at 142mph.