Met Office wind alert for New Forest and Christchurch on Saturday 5th August is now Storm Antoni

The Met Office has updated its weather alert for tomorrow and revealed tomorrow’s windy warning stems from Storm Antoni.

As reported by the A&T, the New Forest and Christchurch are set for a battering on Saturday, with gusts of 65mph predicted.

The national weather agency has now bumped up the predicted impact of the weather and says “injuries and danger to life from flying debris are possible”.

Christchurch music and food festival Stompin’ on the Quomps has been postponed, and outside events at the Burley Village Show have also been cancelled. However, competitions held in the village hall will go ahead.

The Met Office also warns:

• Some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs, could happen
• Road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected, with longer journey times and cancellations possible
• Some roads and bridges may close
• Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage
• Injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties

The alert time has also been amended to between 8am and 8pm.

Met Office chief meteorologist Steve Willington said: “Storm Antoni will bring some potentially disruptive weather on Saturday as it moves from west to east. Northern Ireland is likely to see some of the highest rainfall totals, with 40-60mm falling in some spots, but 20-30 more widely. Away from the warning area many will still see a very wet day, especially in north Wales and north England.

“Storm Antoni will also bring strong winds to a swathe of Wales, south-west England and southern coastal areas of England. The strongest winds will affect parts south-west England and southwest Wales where exposed coasts and high ground could see gusts in excess of 60mph. In these areas, gusts inland could reach 50-55mph for a time.

“These windy conditions will likely coincide with high tides which will present an additional challenge for coastal areas.

“Busy travel networks at this time of year and the possibility of people having made plans to be outside have resulted in the system meeting our criteria for naming, with a strong chance of disruption for those within the warning areas.”

The RAC’s Rod Dennis said: “We expect Saturday to be the worst day on the roads of the summer so far, especially for anyone in the south-west of England – and that’s a lot of people as our research shows it’s the most popular part of the country for leisure trips by car this year.

“Conditions will be atrocious with a wholly unpleasant mix of very strong winds and locally intense rainfall. The best advice is to slow down significantly to stay safe and avoid exposed moorland and coastal routes until the storm passes. Drivers towing caravans and trailers need to be particularly careful in these conditions and those with boxes and bikes on the roof should double-check they’re secured properly.

“Drivers should also watch out for fallen trees and be prepared for the disruption they cause.

“Nationally, we estimate around 4m drivers will be using the roads for leisure journeys across the whole weekend.”

Storm Antoni is the first storm named by the Met Office this season. The names Otto in February and Noa in April were adopted by the Met Office earlier this year as they were named by international partners and impacted the UK.