Storm Aiden to lash the UK this weekend as unsettled pattern continues

 By Maura Kelly, AccuWeather meteorologist

Published Oct. 30, 2020 1:29 PM

An unsettled pattern that will hang around northwestern Europe into the beginning of next week has produced Storm Aiden, set to impact the region into the weekend. But will this be the only windstorm to race across the region?

The unsettled pattern kicked off on Tuesday as a cold front swept in periods of rain and gusty winds to northwestern Europe.

The weather will ramp up into the weekend across the British Isles as a robust storm system swings into the region. This storm was dubbed Storm Aiden by Met Eireann on Friday as the storm is expected to strengthen as it reaches the region.

Wind gusts of 40-60 mph (65-97 km/h) will overspread the British Isles late Friday night and into Saturday as Aiden tracks across the region. As the storm strengthens, wind gusts could climb to 60-80 mph (97-128 km/h), mainly across the highlands and along the southern coasts of England, Wales and Ireland.

These areas are also where the AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 90 mph (145 km/h) will be most likely to occur.

Wind gusts of this magnitude can lead to localized damage, downed trees and branches, coastal flooding along exposed beaches, power cuts and travel disruptions.

While strong wind gusts will be the main concern with Storm Aiden, locally heavy rainfall can still lead to areas of flash flooding across the United Kingdom and Ireland.

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Rainfall totals are expected to reach 25-50 mm (1-2 inches) across Ireland, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and most of England, which can lead to flooding in low-lying and poor drainage areas.

An AccuWeather Local StormMax™ of 100 mm (4 inches) is possible along the western coasts of Scotland, Wales and England.

Rain and wind from Aiden will taper off across the British Isles through Saturday night as the storm moves north, spreading the greatest impacts to the Faroe Islands.

However, this won't the end of the blustery weather in this corner of Europe.

In the wake of Aiden, two storms will follow in quick succession, each bringing another round of locally heavy rainfall and gusty winds to the British Isles.

The first storm is expected to track to the north of Northern Ireland and into northern Scotland late Saturday night and into early Sunday morning.

The second is forecast to make a beeline across Ireland and into northern England and southern Scotland through Sunday night and Monday.

AccuWeather forecasters will continue to monitor these storms for the potential to strengthen into windstorms.

Residents from Ireland and the U.K. to Denmark and northern Germany are reminded to monitor the progress of each storm as this messy pattern carries some uncertainty.

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Numerous storms tracking through the region in such a short period of time will make it difficult to determine the exact tracks of the storms and which ones will gain sufficient strength to support widespread damaging wind gusts.

Gusty winds and occasional showers can linger into Tuesday. By the middle of the week, high pressure is forecast to build over the region and promote drier conditions.

AccuWeather's team of long-range meteorologists released its 2020-2021 winter forecast for Europe last week. The forecast has a region-by-region breakdown of what Europeans can expect in the coming months, including how the primary storm track for the winter will develop.

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