It runs from 9pm tomorrow through Sunday, with heavy rain and frequent showers on top. A wider Yellow warning stretches further south and covers all of Northern Ireland. And SEPA says watch the coast — storm surge plus big waves could bring moderate flooding.
That's everything we know.
Why this mattersSo here's the thing. This storm has a name. Boelo.
And it's landing within a day of the last one leaving.
Storm Austen is still on its way out, moving into the Low Countries. But Dan Suri, the Met Office's Chief Forecaster, says it's still bringing wet, windy weather to large parts of the UK as it goes.
And Storm Austen already did damage. The Met Office recorded a gust of 76mph at St Mary's airport in the Isles of Scilly earlier today. 74mph at Aberporth in south Wales. 71mph at Culdrose in Cornwall. Channel 4 News reported a higher figure separately — gusts of up to 84mph from the same storm.
About 18,000 homes in Wales and the South West lost power. Well over a hundred schools across England and the Channel Islands shut early or opened late. Rail services were disrupted across the South East. Ferry crossings from Dover and Newhaven were cancelled.
Now a second storm is hitting the other side of the country. Chris Bulmer, the Met Office's Deputy Chief Forecaster, said Boelo would hit the opposite end of the country to Storm Austen.
So no part of the UK gets a break this weekend.
And here's the part worth knowing. This warning has just been upgraded. A day ago, the Met Office had this area down as Yellow. Now it's Amber. Mark Sidaway, the Met Office's Deputy Chief Forecaster, says quote "Gusts could reach up to 80mph in places" with 50 to 60mph more widely.
Local authorities are already moving. Orkney sits in the Yellow band, not the Amber core, with gusts of 65 to 75mph likely there from 6pm tomorrow. Orkney Ferries says all its services could be disrupted from tomorrow afternoon. Stagecoach says it may pull Orkney buses at short notice. SSEN has gone to Yellow Alert across the north of Scotland, ready for power cuts.
In Moray, the council has its own Amber warning, plus a Yellow warning starting at noon tomorrow. It's warning of flying debris that could hurt people, damage to trees and buildings, travel disruption, power cuts, and coastal flooding from a possible tidal surge on Sunday.
Jack Halstead, the RAC's Mobile Mechanic of the Year, says quote "could be particularly challenging for drivers in the next few days" with one storm following so close behind the last.
So what don't we know? The exact peak gusts at each location. And whether transport operators will cancel services before the storm even arrives.
Right now, this is still a forecast.
By tomorrow night, it's a test.
