Severe storm warning as Hurricane Katia blows towards UK

Forget about a season of mists and mellow fruitfulness – autumn looks instead set to feature 80mph winds as Hurricane Katia, which is currently crossing the Atlantic, lines up to strike Britain this weekend.

Though it failed to make landfall in the United States, forecasters are warning Katia may cause trees to fall, along with structural damage and travel delays, in the UK. The first high winds could arrive tomorrow night and severe weather warnings have been issued along the entire western and south western coasts.

The most exposed areas could be hit by 50ft waves, and the predicted gales could coincide with high tides that cause localised flooding – although experts have played down comparisons to the Great Storm of 1987, in which 18 people died.

However, the Met Office admitted that it may be hard to predict where and when the deep, slow-moving depression will strike and advised people to keep up to date with the changing forecast if they were planning to travel. As it sweeps northwards, Katia is expected to lose its tropical character, arriving in the UK as an Atlantic gale.

Chief forecaster at the Met Office, Eddie Carroll, said: "Although it will be very windy everywhere, it is uncertain exactly which parts of the country will see the strongest winds." The extremely windy weather is expected to ease by the middle of the week, although it will remain blustery – continuing the wet start to the autumn, after the coolest summer for 18 years.

Britain is often buffetted by gales caused by tropical storms at this time of year. The last to cause serious damage were Hurricanes Bill and Grace which struck in 2009.

The last full-blown hurricane to hit the British Isles was Hurricane Charley in 1986, which deposited more than eight inches of rain over parts of Southern Ireland and washed out the August Bank Holiday.

Katia is the second major hurricane of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season and caused 90mph winds and 20ft waves in the United States.

At its peak it was rated as category four on the Saffir-Simpson scale. The scale rates hurricanes from one to five. Five is the strongest.