Storm Jocelyn to Batter UK With Strong Winds, Heavy Rain After Isha Disruption

Storm Jocelyn is expected to bring powerful winds and intense rainfall to the UK on Tuesday, with Storm Isha following closely behind, tragically resulting in the loss of two lives.

According to meteorologists, this storm season in the UK and Ireland has been the most active on record.

Storm Jocelyn to Hit UK With Strong Winds, Heavy Rain

(Photo : Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
NEWHAVEN, ENGLAND - JANUARY 22: Geography students take beach surveys as waves strike a breakwater, with the Newhaven Lighthouse in the background, on January 22, 2024 in Newhaven, England. Much of the UK was battered overnight by Storm Isha and its high winds, which in some places reached 99mph. Windy conditions persisted into the morning.

Storm Jocelyn has been named by Met Éireann and is forecasted to impact the UK on Tuesday and Wednesday. The UK experienced Storm Agnes in late September, bringing with it strong winds of up to 70 mph and heavy rainfall. This event marked the beginning of the storm season. After the initial storm, a series of subsequent storms swept through the area, bringing their own unique names.

Liz Bentley, the chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, noted that the upcoming storm named Jocelyn is the second one to be named within a span of 36 hours. "However, it is quite uncommon to have experienced such a high number of named storms at this point," she remarked.

According to her, Jocelyn will be the tenth named storm since the autumn or winter storm season began. "We haven't reached this point in the alphabet in January before, so it's quite unusual to witness such a high level of activity," she continued.

As the day progresses, the wind is expected to pick up, potentially reaching gusts of up to 80 mph in the northern and western regions of Scotland.

A yellow wind warning has been issued by the Met Office for a large portion of the UK, with potential travel disruptions and the risk of damage to buildings. According to BBC News, strong winds are expected, and all ScotRail trains will be suspended starting at 7 pm on Tuesday. There will be no services available on Wednesday morning.

Storm Isha Kills 2 People

Storm Isha wreaked havoc across the UK with gusts as high as 107 mph, leaving tens of thousands without power and two dead. Police Scotland reported that an 84-year-old man died when the car he was riding in crashed with a downed tree on the A905 near Grangemouth at about 11:45 pm on Sunday.

A 60-year-old man lost his life in Limavady, Northern Ireland, due to a road collision involving two vans and a downed tree at about 9:45 pm on Sunday. Furthermore, a 26-year-old man's automobile crashed into a downed tree in Cramlington, Northumberland, leaving him critically injured at 6:55 am on Monday.

The extreme weather caused many power outages. Northern Ireland had about 24,000 powerless families on Monday afternoon, down from a height of 53,000. Thousands of people in northwest England also had power cuts, while over 170,000 residences in the Republic of Ireland were without power.

The Met Office issued wind warnings for the entire UK on Monday, but it was not anticipated that the strong gusts from the previous night would return. They reported a speed of 99 mph at Brizlee Wood, a Northumbrian air defense radar station, and 107 mph on the Tay Road Bridge in Dundee.