The UK’s Met Office has issued a "threat to life" warning over Storm Antoni, which hit the country on Friday night and is expected to continue into Saturday with heavy rain and strong winds.
"Injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible," the Met Office said, warning of "large waves and beach material being thrown on to sea fronts, coastal roads and properties."
According to the so-called amber warning, some roads and bridges in southwestern areas of England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland, will likely close and there will be "a good chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage."
Chief meteorologist Steve Willington warned that the storm, which is the first to be named by the Met Office this season, would bring “potentially disruptive” weather as it is moving from west to east.
"Northern Ireland is likely to see some of the highest rainfall totals, with 40-60mm falling in some spots, but 20-30mm more widely. Away from the warning area, many will still see a very wet day, especially in north Wales and north England," Willington said.
He added that parts of southwest England and southwest Wales would also be hit by strong gusts of wind, which “could reach 50-55mph for a time” and are likely to coincide with "high tides which will present an additional challenge for coastal areas."
"Beach debris could be thrown from waves onto coastal roads, there's a risk of dangerous tides, riptides and power cuts. Most travel disruption will be from [fallen] trees and branches," the weatherman pointed out, warning that the storm could see winds of up to 70mph on the coast and 60mph inland.
Willington was echoed by the Royal Automobile Club (RAC)’s Rod Dennis, who suggested that Saturday could become “the worst day on the roads of the summer so far, especially for anyone in the southwest of England.”
“Conditions will be atrocious with a wholly unpleasant mix of very strong winds and locally intense rainfall. The best advice is to slow down significantly to stay safe and avoid exposed moorland and coastal routes until the storm passes,” Dennis said.
An international media outlet noted in this vein that the UK Met Office “names storms when they have the potential to have ‘medium’ or ‘high’ impact”. The goal is to make the public pay greater attention to named storms so that “they’re more aware of how dangerous they can be," the outlet added.