The Met Office has issued rare amber "danger to life" weather warnings as Storm Bram prepares to batter parts of the UK with heavy rainfall and fierce winds from Monday night into Tuesday. The storm threatens to bring up to 100mm of rain in just nine hours and wind gusts reaching 90mph in exposed locations.
An amber rain warning covers large parts of South Wales and South West England from midnight Tuesday until 10am Tuesday. Areas including Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Carmarthenshire, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Neath Port Talbot, Powys, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, Torfaen, Cornwall, and Devon face the most severe conditions.
The Met Office said: «Heavy and persistent rain will develop over south Wales on Monday evening and continue through the remainder of the night onwards into Tuesday morning. 50-75 mm of rain is expected across much of the warning area, most of which will fall in around 9 hours. A few exposed locations may see around 100 mm of rain. Rain will also be accompanied by strengthening southerly winds, which may exacerbate impacts.»
Wind threats in Scotland
Northwest Scotland faces an amber wind warning from 4pm Tuesday until midnight Wednesday, with gusts potentially reaching 90mph. Met Office Chief Forecaster Dan Suri warned: «Storm Bram will bring a very wet and windy spell of weather, with very strong winds and further heavy rain which falling over saturated ground, could cause flooding impacts.»
More widely across Wales, southwest England, and Northern Ireland, wind gusts of 50-60mph are expected, potentially reaching 70mph in exposed spots. Yellow wind and rain warnings cover 84 areas across the UK.
Flooding and travel chaos expected
The warnings highlight severe risks including flooded homes and businesses, communities cut off by rising waters, power cuts, road closures, and dangerous driving conditions. Fast-flowing floodwater poses a particular danger to life.
Natural Resources Wales duty tactical manager Charlotte Morgan urged the public to take immediate action. «We are asking people to be alert for potential flooding with heavy rain predicted through today (Monday) and overnight, especially in parts of south Wales,» she said. «With some rivers already swollen and the ground saturated, we expect to see a number of flood alerts and warnings issued.»
She added: «We're urging people to be vigilant and to prepare for potential flooding now. You can check if you live in an area at risk of flooding on our website and sign up for our free flood warning service. We also want to remind people to keep away from swollen riverbanks and not to drive or walk through flood waters as you don't know what lies beneath.»
The Met Office advises preparing a flood kit containing insurance documents, torch, batteries, first aid supplies, prescription medicines, and family essentials. People should also secure loose outdoor items like bins, garden furniture, trampolines, and sheds, and consider moving vehicles to higher ground.
Storm naming and outlook
Storm Bram, named by Met Éireann (Irish weather service), is the second named storm of the season following Storm Amy in October. The Met Office, Met Éireann, and Dutch service KNMI collaborate annually on storm naming, using public submissions for names that are easy to pronounce and understand.
Network Rail has advised passengers in Scotland to plan ahead and check journeys before travelling Tuesday. Transport Scotland warned that conditions are likely to disrupt road, rail, air, and ferry travel. Cabinet Secretary for Transport Fiona Hyslop said: «The high winds are likely to impact other modes of transport, so if you are planning to travel by train, ferry or air, please check with your operator to see if your service has been affected.»
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
