The UK is battening down the hatches for Storm Doris, which is set to bring a day of powerful gales and torrential rain to large parts of the country.
Doris, the fourth named storm of 2016/2017, descended overnight, whipping up winds of almost 90mph on the west coast of Ireland as it drifted towards the UK.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We have got a fairly active area of low pressure coming in from the Atlantic," Met Office forecaster Emma Sharples told the Daily Telegraph. "It is strengthening as it moves eastwards to the UK."
Meteorologists warned yesterday that Doris could be powerful enough to "damage buildings and send debris flying when it hits the mainland".
In Ireland, 46,000 people were left without power in the wake of the storm, the Irish Mirror reports, and similar disruptions are expected in the UK.
As of this morning, the Met Office has issued a dozen amber warnings, affecting parts of northern England, East Anglia, north Wales and the Midlands, with a snow warning for many parts of Scotland, with snowfall of up to six inches in the Highlands.
Drivers are advised to avoid some stretches of road in northern England and the Midlands, where strong winds and heavy rain could present particularly challenging driving conditions.
Rail passengers should also be prepared for delays and cancellations as a safety speed limit of 50mph is imposed on some services.
Travellers flying from Heathrow today are also advised to check the status of their flight. More than a dozen domestic journeys have been cancelled and Irish national airline Aer Lingus has suspended service from the UK in anticipation of strong winds.
-
August 17 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include voting rights of felons, misdirection on the way to the Alaska summit, and more
-
5 crime-ridden cartoons about National Guard deployment in DCCartoons Artists take on the crime of littering, the real criminals in DC, and more
-
Trump and Modi: the end of a beautiful friendship?In the Spotlight Harsh US tariffs designed to wrest concessions from Delhi have been condemned as 'a new form of imperialism'
-
Europe's heatwave: the new front line of climate changeIn the Spotlight How will the continent adapt to 'bearing the brunt of climate change'?
-
Why the weather keeps getting 'stuck'In the Spotlight Record hot and dry spring caused by 'blocked' area of high pressure above the UK
-
Severe storms kill dozens across central USSpeed Read At least 40 people were killed over the weekend by tornadoes, wildfires and dust storms
-
Rain helps Los Angeles wildfires, risks mudslidesSpeed Read The weather provided relief for crews working to contain wildfires, though rain over a burn area ups the chances of flooding and mudslides
-
Fast-spreading Los Angeles wildfires spark panicSpeed Read About 30,000 people were under an evacuation order as the inferno spread
-
Cuba roiled by island-wide blackouts, Hurricane OscarSpeed Read The country's power grid collapsed for the fourth time in just two days
-
Floridians flee oncoming Hurricane MiltonSpeed Read The hurricane is expected to cause widespread damage in the state
-
Welcome to summer without El NiñoThe Explainer Temperatures may be cooler. But not by much.
