Exact areas to be hit by 78mph winds and torrential downpours as remnants of Hurricane Ernesto to sweep UK

19 August 2024, 10:47

Brits are set to face 78mph winds and torrential downpours as remnants of Hurricane Ernesto sweep the UK.

Hurricane Ernesto will arrive in the UK on Tuesday after making its way across the north-west Atlantic.

Weather maps have shown that strong winds will sweep the country after previously leaving thousands without power.

Parts of north Wales, northern England and Scotland are set to see near 80mph winds, according to Ventusky maps.

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Deputy Chief Meteorologist Tony Wisson said: "Newspaper headlines suggesting that Ernesto itself is set to batter Britain aren’t accurate.

"The once powerful system itself will break down before it reaches us, but the warmth and moisture it once contained will become entrained within a mid-latitude frontal weather system.

"This will lead to unsettled conditions for the UK, especially across the north and west, with heavy rain and strong winds expected here.

"Although August is usually associated with fine and settled weather, wet and windy weather such as this aren’t uncommon, as seen in previous years."

It comes as a yellow warning for rain is in place for Scotland across Wednesday and Thursday.

The heavy rain and strong winds could lead to flooding, the Met Office warned.

Forecaster Craig Snell said: "Ernesto, at the moment, is still out on the other side of the Atlantic as a tropical storm.

"As we go through the next couple of days, it kind of weakens as it moves into cooler waters and gets absorbed into a more typical area of low pressure, which we kind of get quite often."

He continued: "Because the tropical systems just have so much warmth and a lot of moisture in them, remnants of the warmth and remnants of the moisture will be still there in that weather system on Wednesday and Thursday, so it will enhance the rainfall."

Ernesto is the fifth named storm and the third hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season.