Storm Lilian: High winds and heavy rain to batter the UK - here's when it will hit

And indeed, in predictable news, the cold and rough weather of the last day will get bad enough to be designated a storm for some - with Lilian being the 12th named storm of the year.

The Met Office says that strong winds and heavy rain are likely for many in the north of the UK on Friday morning - a busy day on the roads before the long weekend - with gusts of up to 80mph.

It says Lilian will move north east early on Friday, with strong winds for northern England and Wales, and parts of southern Scotland. There is likely to be travel disruption, the chance of power cuts and dangerous conditions on the coast.

Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said: “Storm Lilian will bring some potentially damaging gusts during Friday morning, with gusts widely in the 50-60mph range, with the possibility of some gusts in excess of 75mph in a few places.

“There’s associated rainfall with Lilian that has also resulted in a Met Office warning for parts of Scotland. Within the warning area, another 50mm of rain is possible over high ground, with 20-30mm falling quite widely. Much of this is falling on saturated ground so increases the chance of some surface water flooding.”

Lilian will move into the North Sea on Friday morning, with reducing winds and scattered showers coming next for most. Rain is likely in southern England by the end of the day.

This weekend sees the Notting Hill carnival in London, Reading and Leeds music festivals, Victorious festival in Portsmouth and Chris Evans’ CarFest event in Hampshire, and many more events as the summer comes to a close.

However, the bank holiday itself is looking slightly more promising - for some. Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Nick Silkstone said: “Early Saturday will likely see heavy rainfall across southern and south-eastern parts of England, but his should clear by mid-afternoon, with just a few showers following. Thereafter through to Monday, many southern and eastern areas will remain dry and fine, but temperatures will be at or even a touch below average.”

It will be a different story for north western areas though, which will see a continuation of the recent unsettled and wet weather. Following a wet August so far for the area, the north west of the UK will continue to see periods of frequent showers, rain and strong winds.”

After the bank holiday weekend for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, there are signs of more settled conditions developing into the middle part of next week, with even the chance of conditions turning hot for a time in the south and southeast.

It’s the first time since storm names were introduced in 2015 that the letter L has been reached. The storm naming season runs from September to September each year.