UK bracing for impact as Met Office warns of ‘danger to life’ from Storm Babet

It is the first red warning for rain issued in the UK since Storm Dennis in February 2020.

Handout photo used with permission of Damien Rytel showing flooding in Midleton, Co Cork caused by Storm Babet (Damien Rytel/PA) (PA Media)

The UK is bracing for impact from Storm Babet, with a rare red weather warning in place as Ireland endures flooding in the wake of the storm.

Storm Babet will bring 70mph gusts and over one month’s worth of rain in the worst-affected regions of the UK on Thursday.

A red Met Office warning says from 6pm there is “danger to life from fast-flowing or deep floodwater” in Aberdeenshire and Angus in eastern Scotland, with extensive road closures expected.

There may be power outages and some areas could be cut off for days, with people urged to check for flood updates, avoid travel and expect school closures.

Angus Council said schools will close at lunchtime on Thursday and remain shut on Friday to “ensure the safety of children, young people, parents, and school staff”.

Mass train cancellations have been imposed by ScotRail, expected to last from Thursday until Saturday.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has three flood warnings in place as of 6am, along with 14 flood alerts.

It is the first red warning for rain issued in the UK since Storm Dennis in February 2020.

An amber wind warning has also been issued for parts of eastern Scotland.

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: “We’re going to see prolonged heavy rain, where we could see 200 to 250 millimetres of rain falling within a day which is well over a month’s worth of rainfall for eastern parts of Scotland.

“We’re likely to see flooding, power disruption, travel disruption, there is a risk to life as well.

“There’s also an amber wind warning out for eastern parts of Scotland, where we could see gusts of 60 to 70 miles an hour, just adding to the extremely dangerous weather coming for parts of Scotland.”

Storm Babet hit Ireland on Wednesday after sweeping in from the Atlantic, bringing with it heavy rainfall and causing extensive flooding in parts of the country.

Members of the Irish Defence Forces were deployed in the town of Midleton, Co Cork in the south of Ireland, where more than 100 properties were flooded.

Cork County Council said more than a month’s worth of rain had fallen in the space of 24 hours, leading to unprecedented flooding, saturated land and high river levels across the county.

Large swathes of already-saturated Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern and eastern England will also see strong winds and heavy rain on Thursday, with yellow severe weather warnings issued through to Saturday.

Storm Babet, a complex area of low pressure which developed to the west of the Iberian peninsula, was named by the Met Office on Monday morning.