Storm Betty is heading our way, bringing strong winds and heavy rain as well as possible thunder before nightfall.

A yellow weather warning for strong winds has been given for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The storm has been named by the Irish weather service Met Eireann and Ireland has been bearing the brunt of the storm.

It is tonight bringing high winds and heavy rain to western areas of the UK, including Devon and Cornwall as it sweeps north across Ireland.

A  Met Office yellow warning of rain covers coastal areas of Cornwall, western Wales, eastern Northern Ireland and parts of northwest England and southwest Scotland. Rain warnings have also been issued from late Friday and into Saturday for Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland. 

Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said: “Friday and Saturday will see unseasonably wet and windy conditions for much of the UK. While Storm Betty will have higher impacts in Ireland, exposed Irish Sea coasts of the UK could see gusts in excess of 70mph, with around 50mph more widely. 

“Storm Betty is also bringing some large accumulations of rainfall for the time of year, with some spots of Northern Ireland seeing around 80mm of rain, though between 15-25mm is expected more widely. Parts of Scotland could see similarly high accumulations, especially over higher ground.” 

Betty is the second storm named by the storm naming group of Met Éireann, the Met Office and KNMI following Storm Antoni earlier in August. This is the second time since storm naming was introduced in 2015 that two storms have been named in August, following Ellen and Francis in August 2020. 

People living or working on the coast should take extra care during windy and stormy weather, said the Met Office.

Friday and Saturday will also see thunderstorms develop in southern and eastern areas of England. Successive warnings have been issued with some impactful thunderstorms possible for some on Friday and into Saturday. 

Jason added: “While many within the thunderstorm warning areas may see relatively little rainfall, there is the potential for a few places to see around 20-40mm of rain within an hour, and possibly around 40-60mm over three hours. Large hail and frequent lightning are additional hazards for the likely overnight thunderstorms in eastern areas of England.”