Storm Arwen to batter Birmingham in the next 48 hours - here’s what we know so far

Storm Arwen is set to hit the UK this weekend, and Birmingham could face the brunt of it.

Strong winds will batter the country, with the worst of this to hit Birmingham on Saturday.

“Storm Arwen will bring high winds to most areas during Saturday,” said the Met Office.

“Gusts will widely reach 55 to 65 mph in many coastal areas with the highest gusts in coastal parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, southwest England and northeast England where gusts in excess of 65 mph are expected in some areas.

“Winds will start to slowly ease over Scotland and then northern England during the course of the day,” the warning read.

Wind speeds are set to pick up tomorrow, with the strongest winds coming in the afternoon where we could see gusts of over 25mph.

This will be accompanied by a high chance of heavy rain for most of the day across the city.

This rain will ease off throughout the evening and into the night, but the wind will just keep getting stronger.

30mph gusts during the night will increase to over 40mph by 9am on Saturday morning.

Saturday looks set to be dry, but according to the Met Office the ‘feels like’ temperature could reach as low as -5°C in the afternoon.

The Met Office yellow weather warning, which covers Birmingham, is in place from 12am until 6pm across the UK.

What have the Met Office told us to expect from the strong winds?

• Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible
• Some damage to trees, temporary structures and buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen
• Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible
• Some roads and bridges may close
• Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage
• Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties

Wind speeds will ease by the evening, but will still be in the 30mph region heading into Sunday morning.

It could still feel as low as -6°C on Sunday, but the brunt of the storm looks set to have passed over Birmingham by then.

Wind speeds will drop below 20mph by Sunday evening and could drop to single figures by Monday morning.

West Midlands forecast 

Friday:

Cloudy with periods of rain at first. Skies brightening by lunchtime, with heavy blustery showers, and some hail mixed in at times, these turning wintry over the hills later. Windy. Maximum temperature 7 °C.

Outlook for Saturday to Monday:

Very windy and cold on Saturday, with sunshine and showers, wintry over hills. Sunnier with lighter winds on Sunday. Turning cloudier with rain at times on Monday and less cold.

(Source: the Met Office)