UK

Storm Otto: Met Office warns of 75mph winds when first named storm of the year hits UK

February 16, 2023
Storm Otto: Met Office warns of 75mph winds when first named storm of the year hits UK

Parts of the country could be hit by 75mph gusts when the first named storm of the year hits the UK.

The Met Office has warned that Storm Otto is likely to arrive in the early hours of Friday morning.

Named by forecasters in Denmark, the storm is predicted to affect the northeastern coast of England and most of Scotland.

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It will move eastwards across the far north of the UK until Friday afternoon.

Met Office chief meteorologist Andy Page said: “Storm Otto will bring high winds and rain to the UK, with some northern parts of Scotland and the northeast of England likely to get the strongest gusts of wind, possibly in excess of 75mph.

“There’s a chance of travel disruption and high-sided vehicles could be particularly prone to disrupted plans in this set-up. There’s associated rain with Storm Otto, with 40-50 mm of rain likely to fall over parts of western Scotland.”

Other potential impacts include the likelihood of large waves, especially on the North Sea coast, and a chance of some damage to buildings and infrastructure.

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It has been almost a year since the Met Office named a storm

By Joanna Robinson, weather producer

Over recent months we have had spells of heavy snow and heavy rain, with January being remembered for flooding, but very strong winds have so far been lacking through the autumn and winter period.

It has been almost a year since the Met Office named a storm, the first time that has happened since the naming convention started in 2015.

On the 20 and 21 February 2022, Storm Franklin brought particularly strong winds to Northern Ireland and parts of northwest England, with gusts reaching up to 78mph – quickly followed by Storm Eunice, which was the most severe storm to hit England and Wales since January 2014.

Before that it was Storm Darcy, with all three storms occurring in just a week of wild weather due to a powerful jet stream.

This autumn and winter period has been quiet in comparison, but a low pressure system which has been named Storm Otto by the Danish Meteorological Institute will bring strong winds to northern parts of Britain on Friday.

The Met Office naming criteria will only be officially met if an amber warning is issued, but they have confirmed Storm Otto will count as our first named storm of the season.

Otto is the first named storm to impact the UK, since the beginning of the current storm-naming season last September.

The Met Office’s first named storm of the season will be Storm Antoni.

After the storm has passed late on Friday, the rest of the weekend will be largely unsettled, according to the Met Office, with a mix of cloud and rain on Saturday.