Storm Otto: Met Office warns of 75mph winds when first named storm of the year hits UK
Parts of the country could be hit by 75mph gusts when the first named storm of the year hits the UK.
The Met Office has warned that Storm Otto is likely to arrive in the early hours of Friday morning.
Named by forecasters in Denmark, the storm is predicted to affect the northeastern coast of England and most of Scotland.
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It will move eastwards across the far north of the UK until Friday afternoon.
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.
“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.”
Other potential impacts include the likelihood of large waves, especially on the North Sea coast, and a chance of some damage to buildings and infrastructure.
Otto is the first named storm to impact the UK, since the beginning of the current storm-naming season last September.
The Met Office’s first named storm of the season will be Storm Antoni.
After the storm has passed late on Friday, the rest of the weekend will be largely unsettled, according to the Met Office, with a mix of cloud and rain on Saturday.
