A wet and windy start to the weekend has been forecast, with the arrival of Storm Erik bringing winds of 70mph to some areas and heavy rain across large parts of the UK.
The Met Office issued two weather warnings on Friday: for strong winds across Northern Ireland and western Scotland until the evening, and for heavy rain in Scotland that will continue until Saturday afternoon.
Gales of 70mph could affect exposed coasts of Northern Ireland on Friday morning, while heavy rain may lead to flooding in Scotland, the Met Office said.
The Welsh and Cornish coasts could have winds of 55mph, while along the coast of southern England, gusts may reach 50mph, it added.
On Thursday, the weather conditions were named Storm Erik by the Irish forecaster Met Éireann, with winds of 56mph experienced in Cork overnight.
The weather would result in some “quite nasty travelling conditions”, said Sarah Kent, a Met Office meteorologist.
“It’s going to be a noticeably windy day everywhere today. And that is going to be in association with outbreaks of heavy rain too,” she said.
While a lull is expected in the fiercest winds on Friday evening, gusts will pick up again at about midnight, when a warning will cover Northern Ireland, southern Scotland and much of northern England. Winds are expected to ease off by Sunday.
