‘Danger to life’ as Debi batters UK

The warning was issued over fears of flying debris and destruction caused by huge waves as coastal areas in Northern England and Wales expected to experience the most extreme conditions.

Roads, rail and ferry services are likely to be hit by ‘severe and damaging’ winds of more than 80mph with mayhem expected as commuters return to work at the start of the week.

Storm Debi - the fourth named storm of the season - could also bring fast-flowing flood water and power cuts to many parts of the country.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning from 4am to 6pm covering a huge swathe of the north of England including Manchester and Liverpool in the west to Newcastle in the east.

A severe rain warning has also been issued for parts of north-east Scotland while Northern Ireland is set to be lashed by fierce winds and rain.

The storm was officially named by the Irish weather service, Met Eireann, yesterday (Sun) morning.

Jason Kelly, chief meteorologist with the Met Office, said the strongest winds were expected to affect parts of Ireland early on Monday, “possibly coinciding with the morning commute”, before hitting north Wales and northern England.

He said: “Storm Debi will develop quickly and bring potentially very strong and damaging winds to parts of the Republic of Ireland, which is why Met Éireann has decided to name the system.

“Whilst the very strongest winds will have eased somewhat before reaching the UK, we are still expecting some significant impacts and a wind warning has been issued.

“Additionally, Debi will bring a period of heavy rain to Northern Ireland for which a combined wind and rain warning has been issued.”

Storm Debi is developing because of a powerful jet stream crossing the Atlantic which is responsible for the very unsettled period of weather we are currently experiencing.

The storm is expected to move through into the North Sea on Monday evening but forecasters warned further areas of low pressure may develop and affect the UK during the coming week.

It comes after record-breaking Storm Ciaran battered the Channel Islands with hurricane-strength gusts of 104mph just weeks ago.

Areas of Ireland and England also suffered damage, with 10,000 homes in Cornwall being left without power while hundreds of schools were forced to close.

Another recent storm, Babet, flooded nearly 600 properties in Lincolnshire.