‘Weather bomb’ warning as Storms Ellen and Kyle set to batter the UK

A weather warning has been issued for 65mph winds and enormous waves that are expected to batter the country.

Britain is expected to be hit by a ‘weather bomb’ this week, and the RNLI has issued a statement to say that people will die if they ignore the storm warnings. 

Storm Ellen has already battered Ireland and Wales with extremely strong winds that have reached 89mph in some areas of Ireland. 

Ellen will be the first storm to hit parts of England on Thursday, which will be followed by the remnants of tropical storm Kyle over the course of Friday and Saturday.

Waves over 20 feet are expected in the southern coast of the UK in Cornwall, with winds expected to reach 75mph. 

Forecasters have predicted that gusts could bring delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport links and potentially disrupt power supplies.

Met Office chief meteorologist Steve Ramsdale said: “Following the recent hot and thundery weather we are seeing a significant change to very unsettled conditions for August with an unseasonal spell of strong winds associated with low-pressure centres for the second half of the week.”

The Met Office has advised campers and walkers on the coast to be aware of the warnings, and that camping furniture, trampolines and children’s toys should be brought inside or secured down outside.

A yellow warning for wind has been issued for the whole of England, Wales and some of Ireland on Friday until at least 6pm.

The Met Office has said to expect delays on journeys and damage to trees, with debris on roads possible.

An Environment Agency boss, who helped the public in devastating floods earlier this year, Dave Throup, tweeted: “All aboard the rollercoaster. A week after the extreme heat, we’ve got the fifth named storm [Ellen] bearing down on us this morning.

“This is the first since flood-making Dennis in February. Heavy rain, gales and charts that would be more appropriate for January.”

The stormy weather comes just a week after scorching temperatures across the UK, which saw temperatures as high as 34C in some areas.

Forecaster Luke Miall said: “We have gone from one extreme to the other, the first thing that springs to my mind with these sorts of events is climate change.

“We are likely to see these swings in extreme events more frequently. Although I couldn’t necessarily say these two events were directly caused by climate change, it’s likely that these sorts of swings in our weather will become more frequent.”