Storm Boelo to bring severe gales and heavy rain into Sunday

A second storm in two days is expected to hit parts of the UK with strong winds and heavy rainfall.

Storm Boelo is forecast to arrive on Saturday, with an amber weather warning coming into effect at 21:00 BST across large parts of Scotland, as well as areas of Northern Ireland and northern England. Exposed locations could experience wind gusts of up to 80mph (128km/h).

The storm could bring significant travel disruption, further power cuts and localised flooding.

The warning follows Storm Austen, which battered parts of the UK just a day earlier with wind gusts exceeding 75mph. The storm brought down trees, disrupted transport services and left thousands of properties without power.

Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast to continue across the UK over the weekend as Storm Boelo moves eastwards, bringing the risk of travel disruption, power cuts and localised flooding.

The worst affected areas are forecast to be across the northern half of the UK.

The Met Office has issued an amber wind warning for much of Scotland and parts of northern England from 21:00 BST on Saturday to 21:00 BST on Sunday.

In Northern Ireland, a second amber warning for wind runs across parts of the north of the region from 21:00 BST on Saturday to 10:00 BST on Sunday.

Numerous other warnings for both wind and rain have been issued across the UK, including:

Severe weather associated with Storm Boelo comes on the heels of Storm Austen, the first named storm of the season, which brought strong wind gusts to large parts of southern England and Wales throughout Friday.

The strong winds and heavy rain disrupted travel with fallen trees blocking railway lines and roads.

In Brighton, part of the iconic West Pier - an abandoned structure that first opened in 1866 - collapsed into the sea.

The National Grid said engineers had restored power to more than 60,000 properties since Storm Austen began - but on Saturday morning there were still hundreds of homes without power.

While the worst of Saturday's weather is forecast to be felt in areas covered by warnings, heavy and persistent rain is expected across larger parts of the UK.

Spray and surface water could make driving conditions hazardous, while further downpours increase the risk of localised flooding.

Strong winds are forecast to continue into Sunday, although rain should gradually ease across most of the country.

Sunny spells and blustery showers are expected elsewhere, while north-east Scotland is likely to see the most persistent rainfall.

Once the weekend's stormy weather has passed, forecasts suggest another area of low pressure will develop over the Atlantic before deepening as it approaches the UK from the south-west.

This could bring a further spell of wet and potentially very windy weather to much of the country on Monday and into Tuesday.

Whether the system will be strong enough to be named remains uncertain.

Later in the week, high pressure is expected to build over the near continent, bringing a return to drier, calmer and more settled conditions.