Storm Kathleen is coming and Lilian won’t be far behind

The first time the letter K was reached was in March 2016, with Storm Katie

The Met Office warned that heavy rain could cause travel disruption (EPA)

The eleventh named storm in eight months will arrive on Saturday with Storm Kathleen. it is only the second time in a UK storm season that the letter K has been reached in the alphabet.

Storm seasons run from the start of September to the end of the following August.

The first time the letter K was reached was in March 2016, with Storm Katie.

No storm season has ever got beyond the letter K.

The Met Office began naming storms in 2015.

Last year’s storm season, which ran from September 2022 to August 2023, made it only as far as the letter B, with Storm Betty in August.

Trees down on the Balcombe road in Horley in 2016 on the morning after Storm Katie (Shutterstock)

By contrast, this year’s season has seen storm Agnes in September 2023, Babet in October, Ciaran and Debi in November, Elin, Fergus and Gerrit in December, Henk, Isha and Jocelyn in January 2024, and now Kathleen in April.

Not all of the alphabet is used when naming storms.

The letters Q, U, X, Y and Z are omitted, in line with convention established by the US National Hurricane Centre.

It means the storm names still available for the current season are Lilian, Minnie, Nicholas, Olga, Piet, Regina, Stuart, Tamiko, Vincent and Walid.

The Met Office’s list of storm names is shared with Met Eireann in Ireland and KNMI, the Dutch national weather forecasting service.

Kathleen was named by Met Eireann.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain, snow and wind that come into force on Friday.

The Met Office has issued a warning for snow (Met Office)

Gusts of 50mph are widely expected across the country, with more exposed areas, such as the coast seeing winds of 60-70mph. The forecaster said coastal areas can also expect to see large waves.

The Met Office also warned that heavy rain could cause travel disruption, with a chance of flooding for some homes and businesses.

A snow warning is in place on Friday and covers a large portion of central Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh.

“Snow is likely to cause some travel disruption on Friday morning, particularly on higher routes,” the forecaster said.

Saturday will experience “unseasonably wet and windy” conditions, including heavy rain across parts of Scotland and potential outbreaks across western parts and North East England, Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said.

People walk across Westminster Bridge against strong winds in the rain with the London Eye in the background (EPA)