Channel Islands braced for strong winds due to Storm Antoni

Storm Antoni - the first named storm of the season - is set to bring "unseasonably strong" wind, rain and travel disruption on Saturday.

Wind and tide warnings are in place across parts of the British Isles, including the Channel Islands.

What is Storm Antoni?

The UK Met Office has named the area of low pressure set to move across the UK and Channel Islands on Saturday as Storm Antoni.

It is the first named UK storm of the season, (which runs from September 1 to August 31) and is the latest point in the calendar that a storm has been named.

The storm has been named to help increase public awareness of the expected conditions on Saturday, due to the time of year and the likelihood of people wanting to spend time outdoors.

How will Storm Antoni affect us here in the Channel Islands?

It's expected to bring heavy rain and unseasonably strong winds, potentially Gale Force 8 and gusts of between 50-60 mph.

There is also a risk of disruption to travel at the airports and on the ferries and to outdoor activities taking place. The winds should gradually ease by dawn on Sunday morning.

Hasn't there already been a named storm this week?

Meteo France, the French Met Office Service named the unseasonably deep area of low pressure that swept south and eastwards across the Channel Islands this week as Storm Patricia due to the potential impacts for the north-west of France such as the Brest Peninsula and Brittany.

It brought gale force 8 strength winds to the Channel Islands, high rainfall accumulations and caused disruption at the airports.

The most comparable low-pressure system for the time of year in August dated back over 35 years to 1985.

Why are storms named by the UK Met Office?

Storms are named in partnership with Met Éireann and KNMI, with this being the eighth year of the storm naming project to help raise awareness and inform the public of the risks of upcoming storms and give us the information we need to stay safe.

The Met Office’s names in the list have come through submissions from the public.

KNMI’s selected names are after influential Dutch scientists while Met Éireann’s submissions include Cillian, Fleur, Íde, and Nelly.

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