Storm Brian: Strong winds set to hit British Isles

An Atlantic storm, which is due to hit parts of the UK and the Republic of Ireland this weekend, has been named Brian, the Irish Met office has said.

The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for strong winds and potential flooding in parts of southern and western England and Wales on Saturday.

Met Éireann issued an orange warning, of potentially "significant" impact, for parts of the Irish Republic.

It is the second named storm to hit the UK this winter, after Storm Aileen.

The storm - which could bring gusts of wind of up to 70mph (112kmph) - is likely to hit parts of south-west Ireland in the early hours of Saturday morning.

It is then forecast to affect parts of southern England and southern and western Wales later in the morning.

The Met Office's warning is in place from 04:00 BST (03:00 GMT) on Saturday.

• Warning of heavy rain in Northern Ireland

It warned some coastal areas in the UK could be affected by large waves, with the potential for flooding.

Some transport disruption was "likely", with delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport all possible, the warning added. Short term loss of power and other services is also possible, it said.

The Met Office's chief forecaster Dan Suri said the worst of the storm was likely to be felt in Ireland.

"At the moment, we don't expect the same level of impacts for the UK," he said.

"Gusts exceeding 50mph are expected widely within the warning area, with gusts of around 70mph along exposed coastal areas. These are expected to coincide with high tides, leading to locally dangerous conditions in coastal parts."

The Met Office said it currently has no plans to issue an amber warning for any part of the UK, but the situation was "under continual review".

Met Éireann said there was a risk of coastal flooding in some areas of the Irish Republic.

Under storm naming guidelines, the Met Office and its partner agency Met Éireann name any storm with an amber - or orange - wind warning.

A storm - the tail end of Hurricane Ophelia which travelled across the Atlantic Ocean from the Azores - caused significant damage to the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and north Wales last week.

The Met Office and Met Éireann do not rename the remnants of storms that have moved across the Atlantic, if they have already been named.

On Monday, three people in Ireland died in the storm. Thousands of people were also left without water and power.