The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for strong winds across the UK with Storm Otto set to bring gusts in excess of 75mph. The storm is set to hit in the early hours of Friday morning (February 17).
The Mirror reports the storm comes after the mild weather this week. Storm Otto, which was named by the Danish Meteorological Institute, is racing towards the UK on Thursday (February 16) from across the Atlantic, in what will be the first named storm of the season.
It's expected to be the first named storm to directly impact the UK this storm naming season (from September last year). Two wind weather warnings are in place for Scotland and parts of the north east of England for Friday.
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They warn of very strong winds in England from 5am to early afternoon, possibly affecting travel and transport, and even leaving some areas without power. In Scotland, the storm is set to touchdown a few hours earlier and stay longer, with the warning in place from 3am to 3pm.
While locally in Nottingham light rain is expected on Friday morning with highs of 13C by 2pm.
Met Office Chief Meteorologist Andy Page said: “Storm Otto will bring high winds and rain to the UK, with some northern parts of Scotland and the northeast of England likely to get the strongest gusts of wind, possibly in excess of 75mph.
"Warnings have been issued and could be updated as Storm Otto develops. There’s a chance of travel disruption and high-sided vehicles could be particularly prone to disrupted plans in this set-up. There’s associated rain with Storm Otto, with 40-50 mm of rain likely to fall over parts of western Scotland.”
Alongside this, coastal areas particularly have been put on notice and warned of the likelihood of large waves, especially across the North Sea coasts.
This could get so bad it could lead to damage on some buildings and infrastructure. The yellow weather warnings cover almost all of Scotland, apart from some parts of the south west like Carlisle and Dumfries.
Western Scotland will feel the brunt of the storm in the early hours of the morning before it passes it across the country during the day.
By midday the storm should have mostly passed over land but there still might be some strong winds and rain. In England, the weather warning covers from the border, down the north east coast, across Newcastle upon Tyne, stretching as far as Sheffield.
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