Storm Eowyn could be 'worst in years' as urgent amber warning issued to swathes of UK

Weather maps amusement Storm Eowyn's sheer powerfulness (Image: NetWeather)

Terrifying Storm Eowyn could beryllium Britain's "worst successful years", experts fearfulness - arsenic upwind maps amusement the sheer powerfulness acceptable to smash into the UK connected Friday.

Pronounced ‘Ay-oh-win’, it's the 5th wintertime tempest of the play and named aft a brave heroine successful Tolkien's Lord of The Rings trilogy, successful the films played by Miranda Otto.

And with gales acceptable to scope up to 90mph successful bluish Scotland, the Met Office has upgraded yellowish upwind warnings to a life-threatening 'amber' for swathes of the UK from 6am-9pm Friday - with a yellowish upwind informing successful Scotland kicking successful from midnight to 3pm Saturday.

Areas affected by the "danger to life" amber informing see North-West and North-East England, Yorkshire, Scotland, Midlands and Wales.

One Irish upwind adept fears Eowyn could adjacent beryllium the worst to deed our shores successful years - arsenic Britons are urged to batten down the hatches and enactment safe.

Alan O'Reilly from Carlow Weather wrote connected X, formerly known arsenic Twitter: "The overnight charts for #StormÉowyn are concerning arsenic the precocious solution models amusement damaging gusts crossed the state and this could beryllium the worst tempest we person seen successful years."

The Met Office amber informing means a precocious hazard of powerfulness cuts and mobile telephone outage, arsenic good arsenic disruption to road, rail, aerial and ferry services, span closures and harm to buildings.

More worryingly, amber besides means "injuries and information to beingness could hap from flying debris, arsenic good arsenic ample waves and formation worldly being thrown onto oversea fronts, coastal roads and properties."

And flagging imaginable 90mph-plus gales the Met Office adds: "This volition bring a spell of precise beardown westbound to southwesterly winds, with highest gusts of 60-70 mph reasonably wide inland, 70-80 mph successful immoderate areas, and 80-90 mph on much exposed coasts and hills (perhaps adjacent higher successful a fewer locations)."

Alarming upwind maps by Netweather and www.WXCharts.com amusement the grade of the tempest beforehand acceptable to clang into the UK's occidental coastline connected Friday.

Met Eireann - the Republic of Ireland’s forecasting bureau - has besides issued a nationwide Status Orange upwind informing for betwixt 2am and 5pm connected Friday.

Amber alerts person been issued to a immense chunk of Britain (Image: MET OFFICE)

Calm earlier the tempest - Jogger successful Wednesday's fog on the River Mersey successful Wallasey (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

Storm Eowyn volition besides bring with it rainfall and adjacent snowfall (Image: WXCharts.com)

On Wednesday, Met Office forecaster Clare Nasir explained: "Winds volition beryllium comparatively airy arsenic we caput into the aboriginal hours of Thursday morning, successful Northern Ireland you volition spot the winds fortify arsenic unreality thickens and rainfall moves in.

"This rainfall volition crook dense for a clip arsenic it pushes into occidental Scotland connected Thursday greeting unreserved hour, Wales arsenic good arsenic the westbound state seeing the dense rainfall astir mid-morning, past it moves eastwards."

She added determination volition beryllium "snow implicit the Highlands" of Scotland by midday Thursday and a beardown breeze arsenic temperatures conflict to scope 5-6C - the much showers volition soak the UK by the day arsenic the "blustery" upwind soars successful power.

But it's Friday erstwhile Storm Eowyn yet smashes into Britain with Met Office Amber and Yellow Warnings for upwind kicking successful done until Saturday - with winds exceeding 90mph.

Snow is besides prodicted for parts of Scotland arsenic Eowyn sweeps successful to the UK wreaking havoc.

Weather maps amusement erstwhile Storm Eowyn volition beryllium unleashing her afloat unit crossed UK (Image: WXCharts.com)

Storm maps amusement imaginable for precise beardown winds and uplifts (Image: WXCharts.com)

The mercury rises somewhat connected Friday - reaching astir 11C successful London, Manchester and Cardiff - but the almighty gusts mean it could consciousness acold colder.

Meteorologist Clare Nasir added: "Wind warnings person been issued for astir of the state and determination volition beryllium dense rainfall associated with it arsenic well, preceded by immoderate snowfall crossed cardinal and bluish Scotland."

The looming stormfront is sparked by a almighty pitchy watercourse pushing debased unit crossed the Atlantic and towards the UK, pursuing a caller acold spell implicit North America, the Met Office said.

And determination is the imaginable for further upwind warnings implicit the play and passim adjacent week, the Met Office added.

The tempest is apt to deed the westbound seashore of Ireland astatine astir 8pm connected Thursday evening bringing with it fierce gales.

WXCharts graphs amusement the winds of astir 60mph volition deed the southbound westbound of Britain astatine astir midnight followed swiftly aft by the afloat unit of 80-90mph winds hitting some Cornwall and Wales.

By this clip the beardown gales are creeping crossed the mediate of Britain covering the full federation by 6am connected Friday morning.

Throughout the time the tempest volition determination northerly with the amber warnings taking afloat effect astir 9am successful the northbound of England and southbound of Scotland.

By aboriginal evening connected Friday astir parts of Britain volition spot comparatively calm conditions with cardinal and northbound Scotland the exceptions.