UK braced for 70mph winds and downpours as Storm Jorge makes landfall today
The UK is braced for yet another weekend of severe weather as Storm Jorge prepares to make its landfall later today.
The Met Office has issued rain warnings for parts of Wales and Northern England, saying that parts of the country could see 60-80mm of rainfall in the worst affected areas.
London and the south east look set to avoid bearing the brunt of the storm’s impact, which comes after two weekends of bad weather caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis.
Storm Jorge, which was named by the Spanish weather service AEMET – hence why it is not called Storm Ellen – will bring strong winds and rains to the north-west over the course of Saturday and Sunday.
Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Paul Gundersen, said: “This weekend we’ll see another named Storm bring strong winds to parts of the UK with several wind and rain warnings in place”.
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The weekend will also see especially strong winds across the country, with the possibility of 70mph gusts in coastal areas.
Storm Jorge comes fast on the back of the two previous storms, which have left parts of the country underwater.
The Environment Agency said that flooding along the river Severn, which has reached closed to its highest levels in some places, is likely to continue through the weekend.
Storm Dennis, which hit the UK a fortnight ago, caused major transport disruption, with train services disrupted and some flights cancelled.
Storm Jorge is the fifth storm to hit the UK since December last year and third in February.