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Wales Online
National
Cathy Owen

Met Office issues weather warnings for strong winds and heavy rain the UK as Hurricane Sam barrels across the Atlantic

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for nine hours of gales and rain tomorrow across the UK, and while Wales is set to escape the worst it will also be wet and windy.

Strong winds and heavy rain are expected in the afternoon and evening, leading to some disruption to travel.

A warning is in force from 1pm to 10pm tomorrow and covers coastal areas in southern and eastern England.

Meanwhile the Met Office is continuing to track Hurricane Sam as it barrels across the Atlantic.

It's movements are set to impact our weather next week.

Read more: All the latest news from around the UK here.

A drone that was flown directly into the eye of Hurricane Sam has captured winds of 120mph and waves of up to 50 feet tall.

The hurricane is currently in the Atlantic heading eastwards, and will have an effect on weather in the UK next week, but forecasters are unable to predict what will happen as it depends whether it mixes with the jet stream or not.

Luckily, the hurricane missed the US east coast as it heads across the ocean.

A company called Saildrone said it is flying small drones into hurricanes to allow it to "collect critical scientific data" and give us "a completely new view of one of Earth’s most destructive forces".

The drone was placed in the centre of the storm (Saildrone)

“Saildrone is going where no research vessel has ever ventured, sailing right into the eye of the hurricane, gathering data that will transform our understanding of these powerful storms,” said Richard Jenkins, Saildrone founder and CEO.

“After conquering the Arctic and the Southern Ocean, hurricanes were the last frontier for Saildrone survivability. We are proud to have engineered a vehicle capable of operating in the most extreme weather conditions on earth.”

UK Met Office forecaster Aidan Givern has been tracking Hurricane Sam as part of the forecasting services 10-day outlook. But it is still difficult to predict what will happen.

"It is currently safely away from the UK, on the other side of the Atlantic," he said. "It has not directly impacted any land areas, but by Monday (October 4) it will be approaching the jet stream, and it could play havoc with the jet stream.

"It could, if it interacts with the jet stream in a certain way, but it might not affect the jet stream at all. It is such a small bundle of energy that it will have a huge impact on the jet stream, if it joins in with it.

"It could push it to the north of the UK, and what the would mean is that by Thursday, or Friday, high pressure could build over the UK making it drier.

"Another scenario is that it won't touch the jet stream, meaning it will continue to be wet and windy.

"That subtle difference on Monday where the position of that ex-hurricane ends up, in two very different forecasts by Friday.

"All the different computer models are saying very different things about the track of Hurricane Sam. We talk about uncertainty a lot, this is particularly uncertain."

In the meantime, here is the five-day Met Office forecast for Wales:

Friday:

Rain clearing to the east early leaving some scattered showers and long sunny and dry spells through the day. Blustery winds, particularly in the north and along the coast, easing slightly into the evening. Maximum temperature 16 °C.

Scattered showers and clear spells through the evening. Cloud increasing and showers becoming heavy at times through the night. Winds increasing in the morning, with the risk of coastal gales. Minimum temperature 7 °C.

Saturday:

Showers then longer spells of rain through the day, locally heavy. Remaining blustery along the coast in the morning, easing into the afternoon. Maximum temperature 16 °C.

Outlook for Sunday to Tuesday:

A period of sunny spells and showers, some heavy and thundery at times. Remaining blustery on Sunday, particularly in the north before easing.

The Met Office has issued a weather warning for parts of south eastern England on Saturday.

It says: "A spell of strong southerly winds is expected to affect some southern and eastern parts of England during Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

"Gusts are likely to reach 45-55 mph inland with 65 mph possible along exposed coasts. Heavy rain will be an additional hazard, with as much as 30-40 mm of rain falling in three to six hours in some parts of south and south-east England."

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