Storm Threatens to Disrupt Transport Systems Across Northern UK

The first named storm of the season is forecast to hit the UK and Ireland with heavy rain and gale-force winds on Friday and Saturday, disrupting transport in northern regions.

Amber and yellow alerts have been issued for a large swathe of Ireland and Scotland, as well as parts of northern England and Wales. Storm Amy is expected to intensify as it tracks to the north of Scotland, bringing wind gusts in excess of 80 miles (129 kilometers) per hour, according to the UK Met Office.

“There will be some travel disruption, so some roads, some bridges could be closed, ferries could be canceled,” while trains and planes could also be impacted, said Alex Burkill, a meteorologist at the Met Office.

Winter storms can also be a boon for wind generation, with the UK forecast to reach a record over the weekend, according to Bloomberg models. However, violent gusts can also damage wind farm infrastructure, curbing output.

Storm Amy is being driven by an area of low pressure in the Atlantic, intensified by interactions with Hurricanes Umberto and Imelda. The system will rapidly deepen as it crosses the jet stream, tightening pressure gradients and fueling damaging winds.

London is likely to be largely unscathed, with mild conditions persisting and temperatures as high as 19C (66F) on Friday.

Further south in Europe, icy weather is gripping the Balkans, with more than 30 centimeters (12 inches) of snow forecast for terrain above 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) in Serbia on Friday. Red alerts for severe storms have also been issued for the west coast of Greece.

Elsewhere in Europe:

In Berlin, the mean temperature is forecast to drop as low as 9C on Oct. 3, 3 degrees below the 30-year norm.
Germany has a daily average of 7 heating degree days for the 1 to 5 day forecast, 1 above the 10-year norm.
In Rome, the mean temperature is forecast to drop as low as 14C on Oct. 3, 5 degrees below the 30-year norm.
Italy has a daily average of 2 heating degree days for the 1 to 5 day forecast, 1 above the 10-year norm.

Photograph: Waves crash against the coast in Porthcawl, Wales. Photo credit: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images Europe