Oscar to bring stormy conditions to British Isles into the weekend

By Eric Leister, AccuWeather senior meteorologist

November 03, 2018, 9:56:21 AM EDT

Oscar will pass just north of the United Kingdom, but will still bring the risk of gusty winds and downpours through Saturday.

While Oscar is no longer a tropical cyclone, it will still pack a powerful punch in parts of Ireland and the United Kingdom.

After first bringing rain into western Ireland, Northern Ireland and western Scotland at the end of the week, Oscar will spread rain over the rest of Scotland as well as northern England and Wales through Saturday.

Late-day rain is expected across western Wales and far southwest England on Saturday as well.

Flooding is not expected to be a widespread concern; however, rainfall amounts of 25-75 mm (1-3 inches) will be possible through Sunday morning in western Scotland.

The UK Met Office issued a yellow warning for isolated flooding issues on Saturday across southwest Scotland and northwest England, including Central, Tayside and Fife, Lothian Boarders and Strathclyde.

Accompanying the rain will be damaging winds across northern parts of the U.K., while southern areas can expect a gusty wind.

The hardest-hit areas of Northern Ireland and western Scotland will endure wind gusts of 50-60 mph (80-97 km/h), with exposed coastal and high-elevation locations at risk for even higher gusts.

Winds of this magnitude can result in tree damage and power cuts while also delaying or shutting down travel during the worst of the storm.

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Farther south, wind gusts of 30-40 mph (48-65 km/h) with local gusts to 50 mph (80 km/h) will be felt across Wales and England. Transportation delays and power outages will be isolated across these areas.

Dry weather will hold across the Midlands and southeast England into Saturday afternoon, with just a brief shower possible Saturday night and Sunday.

Temperatures will also trend upwards across Wales and England this weekend, with high temperatures of 12-15 C (54-59 F).

Oscar’s arrival could signal a shift in the weather pattern into a period of frequent storms from the Atlantic, bringing the risk for damaging winds and downpours through the first half of November.

Unsettled weather is expected to persist into the winter months, with the threat for frequent windstorms.