Storm Ciara brings 80mph winds amid travel and power disruption warnings
Travel disruption, power cuts and phone signal problems are expected when Storm Ciara arrives in the West Midlands with winds of up to 80mph this weekend.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind covering the whole country on Saturday and Sunday, as the third named storm of the season approaches.
According to forecasters, there will be "impacts across the whole of the UK" between 6pm on Saturday and midnight on Sunday.
WATCH: Storm Ciara warning
The West Midlands has been braced for storms with a warning from The Met Office that "very strong winds may bring disruption".
BBC Weather forecaster Carol Kirkwood warned Storm Ciara will clash with a powerful jetstream bringing heavy rain and strong gusts across the whole country.
The storm will cause "treacherous conditions" with winds reaching more than 80mph in the north and the west.
She said: “As we head on through this evening and overnight, it will be a breezier night.
"We might see a little bit of frost, with some clear skies, and it’s going to be a cold night. But already you can see what’s happening out towards the west.”
Met Office meteorologist Grahame Madge described the weather front as "Ciara rather rudely barging her way through", taking conditions from "rather benign" to "very unsettled".
He said: "There's the potential for 80mph gusts in exposed locations across parts of the UK."
And he warned of the risks of "coastal flooding, large winds across sea fronts" as well as possible bridge and road closures.
Mr Madge added: "We could also see some impact on networks, both phone and power."
After a calm start to February, conditions will start to change as the weekend approaches, with winds beginning to increase on Friday.
Mr Madge warned "there are some strong winds ahead of Ciara", and said that "through Saturday and Friday we're starting to see these winds strengthen."
But he said they are "not likely to reach their peak until the middle of the warning period", through Sunday.
Storm Ciara is the third named storm of the 2019/20 winter season, and follows Storm Atiyah, which hit on December 8-9, and Storm Brendan, which brought wind and rain to the country on January 13-14.
