Northamptonshire Met Office wind warning updated as Storm Benjamin named - start time and wind speed details

A Met Office wind warning covering parts of Northamptonshire has been updated by the forecaster.

The yellow wind warning will now come into place a few hours earlier - from 03:00 to 23:59 on Thursday October 23.

A map from the forecaster shows the areas of Northamptonshire covered by the wind warning.

A yellow rain warning will also be in place for Northamptonshire from 00:00 to 21:00 on Thursday October 23.

Met Office yellow wind warning

The wind warning reads: “Strong winds may cause travel disruption and some damage across eastern England during Thursday.

“There is a small chance of longer journey times or cancellations as road, rail, air and ferry services are affected. There is a slight chance of some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs. There is a slight chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage. There is a small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties. There is a small chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris. There is a small chance that some roads and bridges could close.

“Storm Benjamin is expected to move from the English Channel to the North Sea during Thursday.

“There is a small chance of gusts of 40-45 mph across parts of Kent and Sussex arriving in the early hours of the morning and up to 55mph in coastal areas here too. Conditions are likely to improve here however, at least for a time, during Thursday morning.

“As Storm Benjamin then moves across the southeast of England, stronger northeast to northwest winds are likely to develop. Gusts of 50-60 mph are probable quite widely, with 65-70 mph possible near coasts. There is a smaller chance, should Storm Benjamin be at the stronger end of expectations, that wind gusts in excess of 70mph could develop for a time very locally, this most likely late morning and into the afternoon.

“There remains considerable uncertainty over the precise track and intensity of Storm Benjamin, which will significantly impact the details at your location. Near to its centre, a marked lull in winds is likely even during the period of this warning, with a sharp increase then occurring as the centre moves away northeast.”

Met Office yellow rain warning

The rain warning reads: “Risk of heavy rain for southern and eastern parts of Britain associated with Storm Benjamin.

“Spray and flooding on roads leading to difficult driving conditions and increased chance of accidents, making journey times longer. Public transport affected in places with some journey times taking longer. Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely.

“Storm Benjamin is expected to cross the south of the UK later Wednesday and early Thursday; confidence in its track has improved compared to yesterday but still remains lower than usual for this type of weather system which leads to continued uncertainty over the corridor of highest rainfall totals.

“That said, an extensive and in places heavy swathe of rain will move into southwestern Britain later Wednesday and spread quickly northeast, with totals by early Thursday morning of widely 20-30mm, and for some places 30-50mm. There is a chance a few places could exceed this, most likely over North Devon and Cornwall and also within a broad area encompassing Lincolnshire, Humberside, East Anglia and East Midlands.

“In association with the rain, conditions are expected to turn windy with gales, initially along south-eastern coasts, but more widely across southern Britain during Thursday daytime.”