How a 200mph jet stream is powering Storm Darragh hitting UK this weekend

Brits could be in for another torrid few days this weekend as Storm Darragh approaches the UK.

Since the end of the summer, people across the country have had to contend with three different storms bringing heavy rain, strong winds and even snow.

Storm Ashley hit in late October, before Storm Bert and then Conall battered the UK.

Bert led to homes and cars in South Wales, Worcestershire and Northamptonshire being submerged in water, bringing devastation to families and communities.

This weekend could compound that damage further, with Storm Darragh due to hit Ireland this afternoon before moving across into Wales, England and Scotland overnight.

But what has brought about such severe and consistent bad weather?

Andrea Bishop, a spokesperson for the Met Office, said the culprit was low pressure brought by an ‘active west to east jet stream with speeds of over 200mph’.

She continued: ‘Storm Darragh is in the developmental area of the jet stream, and that’s partly why it is going to bring severe winds and significant disruption this weekend. It’s partly down to the jet stream and also down to the sudden rise in pressure behind it.

‘What we are seeing at the moment is not particularly unusual for the time of the year. Whilst we have reached the fourth named storm of the 2024/25 season, last year we had storm Debi on 12th November and Storm Elin on the 9th December.

‘In 2015 we had Storm Desmond on the 4th December.’

The Met Office have issued a red ‘danger to life’ weather warning in certain parts of the country tomorrow with wind speeds expected to reach 90mph.

Wales, Bristol and other parts of the west of England are among the areas likely to be worst hit.

The extreme weather conditions could cause falling trees, flying debris and power cuts, with flood warnings also issued in the south of England.

Up to 60mm of rainfall could fall during the storm, which is predicted to last around four days through this weekend.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.