Met Office updates UK warnings as Storm Ashley set to hit in 'weather bomb'

The Met Office has updated its weather warning for northern and eastern parts of the country, as Storm Ashley is set to batter the UK with winds reaching up to 80mph this weekend.

A yellow wind warning was already in place covering Scotland, the north-west of England and north and south west Wales from 3am to midnight on Sunday (October 20). There is also an amber warning in place for north west Scotland and the Hebrides from 9am to midnight on the same day.

The yellow wind warning encompasses the potential of "damage to buildings" such as the loss of roof tiles, potential power cuts, road and rail closures, and possible danger to life in coastal areas.

READ MORE: Met Office issues 'weather bomb' warning as UK to be hit by 80mph winds

It's expected that the affected areas could bring winds with speeds of 50-60mph inland, reaching 70-80 in exposed areas. But the warning was updated at 10.57am this morning, with the likelihood of medium impacts being increased from 'very low' to 'low'.

Windy conditions are expected to continue into Monday, but the weather warning then will only apply to northern Scotland from midnight to 9am on Monday 21.

In an update posted on social media today, the Met Office said: "We're keeping a close eye on developments in the Atlantic Ocean this weekend. An area of low pressure is expected to 'explosively' deepen as it crosses the jet stream and this will bring a period of stormy weather to parts of the British Isles on Sunday."

The Met Office's deputy chief meteorologist Tony Wisson said the low-pressure system will start to develop on Friday near to the coast of Canada before moving across the Atlantic and arriving to the west of the UK on Sunday.

A Met Office graphic shows the low pressure area moving across the Atlantic as it interacts with jet stream winds approaching 200mph. As the weather system crosses the jet stream it undergoes a rapid intensification, which could bring "damaging winds" to UK shores. In the Met Office's latest 'deep dive' forecast, meteorologist Alex Deakin explained that this process is called "explosive cyclogensis" and can result in what is known as a "weather bomb".

The Met Office describes a weather bomb as "a low pressure system whose central pressure falls 24 millibars in 24 hours in a process known as explosive cyclogenesis". The agency explains on its website: "In certain circumstances, the central pressure inside an area of low pressure can fall at a very rapid rate. These are known as ‘bombs’ and violent winds can develop around the system."

Storm Ashley is the first named storm of the 2024/25 season in the UK. The RAC has advised motorists to "keep a good grip of the steering wheel and allow plenty of space between vehicles."

"We also strongly advise avoiding exposed routes, especially those close to coasts that are likely to see the biggest effects from the gusts and where particularly high spring tides could lead to some roads becoming flooded."