High winds are set to batter Co Armagh from tomorrow (Wednesday) morning after the Met Office upgraded their weather warning from yellow to amber.
Storm Ali – as it has been officially named – is expected to arrive at 8am and last right through until 5pm. It is expected to bring a very windy spell of weather with gusts of 65-75 mph inland.
The amber warning, according to the Met Office, brings with it a risk to lives if the proper precautions are not taken.
Buildings are expected to be damaged which in turn could lead to flying debris and fallen trees.
Longer journey times and cancellations likely, as road, rail, air and ferry services may be affected.
Power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services, such as mobile phone coverage. Some roads and bridges likely to close.
Very strong winds and heavy rain will reach Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland during Wednesday. @MetEireann and @metoffice have just jointly named this system "Storm Ali". Warnings will be updated later this morning. #StormAli pic.twitter.com/UIBCl5vmcw
— Met Office (@metoffice) September 18, 2018
Chief forecaster Laura Paterson added: “Storm Ali is expected to bring a spell of very strong winds to northern parts of the UK through Wednesday, particularly Northern Ireland, central and southern Scotland and the far northwest of England.
“As this is the first spell of very strong winds of the season, and given that most trees are still in full leaf, we are likely to see some dangerous conditions with falling trees and flying branches and other debris likely. Strong winds will be accompanied by heavy, squally showers.”
A yellow weather warning is in place from 6am until 10pm on Wednesday.