Storm Agnes: high winds and stormy conditions to hit the UK today as country braces for landfall

The UK is bracing as Storm Agnes is set to make landfall today (27 September).

The Met Office has put yellow weather warnings into place for much of the country, with a warning for wind stretching from midday on Wednesday to 7am on Thursday 28 September affecting Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, south-west England, the West Midlands and most of the north of England . A separate yellow rain warning is in place for areas of Scotland from 3pm on Wednesday until midnight.

Storm Agnes, the first named storm of the season, is expected to hit the west coast of Ireland on Wednesday morning but it travels eastwards towards the UK around midday. The storm is said to be "intensifying quickly" in the Atlantic, with winds of up to 75mph expected.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “We are likely to potentially see some damaging winds, the possibility of some brief power interruptions, particularly in Irish sea coastal areas.

“So Northern Ireland, north-west England, west Wales, and south-west Scotland, that’s where we’ll probably see gusts of up to 75mph (Wednesday) afternoon, (Wednesday) evening, that’s when the peak of the winds will be and then Storm Agnes will move across Scotland clearing away from Shetland through Thursday morning.”

He added: “In addition to the winds, there’s going to be some large waves as well, so some big stormy seas, and therefore there might well be some coastal flooding where the waves break on to promenades and on to coastal roads.”

There are warnings that the storm could create "dangerous conditions" around the coasts, with large waves expected. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has advised staying a "safe distance" away from cliff edges and coastlines during the worst of the weather.

RNLI water safety partner Sam Hughes said: “It is not worth risking your life. If you see someone else in danger in the water, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.

"If you have something that floats that they can hold on to, throw it to them. Don’t go in the water yourself – you may end up in difficulty too.”