Storm Isha: Met Office weather warnings now cover all of UK

The Met Office has extended weather warnings to include almost all of the UK as Storm Isha closes in.

Today (Sunday) and tomorrow now see all the UK covered by a yellow warning for rain, while there is an amber warning for wind covering everywhere barring London and the south east and the Shetland Islands. The yellow wind warning remains in place for the north of England, north Wales and Scotland on Tuesday and Wednesday, while the midlands and the south of England and south Wales are clear on those days.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “We’re expecting widespread gales to affect the UK, amber warnings are in place for large parts of the country. There’s the potential for danger-to-life and damaging winds potentially leading to some power cuts in places, some large waves around coastal regions could bring some debris onto roads and trees could come down.”

He added: “We have a wind warning in place across the whole of the UK, it’s pretty unusual for the whole of the country to be under a blanket wind warning.”

The Met Office has said “everybody” will be affected by the storm. An amber warning, according to the Met Office's definition, means that there is an "increased likelihood of impacts from severe weather, which could potentially disrupt your plans". This includes travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and goes up to "the potential risk to life and property".

The Met Office advice is: "You should think about changing your plans and taking action to protect yourself and your property. You may want to consider the impact of the weather on your family and your community and whether there is anything you need to do ahead of the severe weather to minimise the impact."

Storm Isha is due to hit the UK as the day progresses. While it is quite a mild day, strong winds will be seen across the country overnight and tomorrow.