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17th October 2023
10:21am BST
Storm Babet is set to batter Britain from Tuesday, with heavy downpours and gales in southwest England and Ireland and amid fears a red "danger to life" warning will be issued for Scotland.
Storm Babet – the second named storm of the season after Agnes last month – will bring torrential rain and high winds that could cause widespread flooding to swathes of the country.
The Met Office has issued a four-day yellow warning for rain that begins at 6am Tuesday across southern Scotland, northern and eastern parts of England, as well as Northern Ireland, and will last until 6am on Saturday.
The warning expands Wednesday to include most of Scotland, where MailOnline suggest it will likely lead to an amber or even red weather warning.
Storm Babet will first appear in the southwest this morning, with clouds, wind and rain gradually pushing through the region across the day.
The Met has issued a map showing the storm as it passes through Cornwall and Wales, which will experience wind speeds of up to 34 miles per hour.
Heavy rain will move into the west of the UK Tuesday evening, the Met Office said, bringing increasingly wet and windy weather.
That will spread more widely across the UK on Wednesday "bringing heavy downpours to most parts through the day".
As the rain moves northwards, the Met Office said it will "stall across central and eastern parts of Scotland where the rain will become heavy and persistent from Thursday through to Saturday."
There is a Severe Weather Warning for rain for this area where up to 150-200 mm of rain could accumulate in some areas of higher ground.
Further rain warnings have been issued for Northern Ireland and England and there is also a Yellow warning for wind over the northern half of Scotland through Thursday and into Friday.
Met Office chief meteorologist Steven Keates said: "Heavy and persistent rain will fall onto already saturated ground bringing a risk of flooding.
"It is important to stay up to date with warnings from your local flood warning agency as well as the local authorities.
"For Scotland, this rain will be fairly heavy and persistent through much of the second half of the week and into the early part of the weekend.
"As well as heavy rain, Storm Babet will bring some very strong winds and large waves near some eastern coasts too.
"Gusts in excess of 60mph are possible in eastern and northern Scotland from Thursday. It is likely Met Office warnings will be updated through the week."
Downpours may cause "fast-flowing and deep floodwater" that could pose a "danger to life" and the transport network could suffer major disruption.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) has urged people to be prepared for potential flooding, and said flood alerts and warnings would be issued as required.
Gusts of 70mph were recorded at the end of September as the first named storm of the season, Agnes, swept across Britain and Ireland, damaging buildings, causing travel delays and leaving homes without power.
David Morgan, a flood duty manager for Sepa: “Storm Babet will bring heavy rain and high winds across Scotland from Wednesday evening, starting in the south-west before moving across to the north-east through Thursday and into the weekend.
“Impacts from surface water and rivers are likely, and with catchments saturated from recent heavy rain and flooding, we’re urging people to be prepared for potential flooding.
"There is also concern that surface water flooding may be exacerbated by debris blocking drainage, culverts etc as a result of the high winds.
“If you live or work in an area that could be affected [by flooding], consider any steps you need to take now to be prepared and stay safe, and to take extra care if you need to travel.”
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