Met Office issues yellow wind warning for Friday as deep Atlantic low could become Storm Austen
The Met Office has issued a yellow wind warning for southern England and Wales for Friday as a deep area of low pressure approaches — the first named storm of the season could follow if it strengthens.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind covering southern England and Wales from midnight to midday on Friday, as a potentially deep area of low pressure threatens damaging gusts and transport disruption, the Sun and weather-forecast service Netweather reported.
Gusts of 50–60mph are possible across the affected areas, potentially reaching 70mph or more in exposed coastal locations, with the strongest winds expected in the early hours of Friday. The warning covers 38 local authority areas across southern Wales, south-west England, parts of the south-east and Herefordshire, including Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset, Bristol, the Isle of Wight, Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton and Hove.
The Met Office’s deputy chief forecaster Tom Crabtree said: “An area of the forecast we’re particularly focusing on is the development of a potentially deep area of low pressure that could cross the UK overnight on Thursday and through Friday. It has the potential to bring some strong winds, though the location of the strongest winds will be determined by the low position. At this stage, people should keep an eye on the forecast and be prepared for some unsettled weather at the end of the week.”
If the system strengthens enough to prompt an amber or red warning, it would be named Storm Austen — the first named storm of the 2026–27 season. At this stage the warning remains yellow and carries a low likelihood of 10–25%, though with significant potential impacts, Netweather reported.
Scotland is expected to escape the worst. Met Office meteorologist Clare Nasir said the north would see only a “brisk breeze” with “sporadic bursts of rain” and temperatures slightly below average for the time of year, though the storm’s exact track remains uncertain and a more northerly path could bring gales and disruption further north, the Scottish Sun reported.
Forecasters are urging travellers — including half-term holidaymakers in Wales and Devon — to secure bins, trampolines and garden furniture and to keep an eye on warnings as the forecast develops.
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