Dozens of UK flights cancelled as Storm Kathleen forecast to bring 70mph winds

London: Dozens of UK flights have been cancelled as Storm Kathleen is expected to bring winds of up to 70mph – and potentially the hottest day of the year so far.

About 70 flights departing from and arriving at UK airports before midday on Saturday were cancelled as the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for wind.

The warning covers the north-west and south-west of England and parts of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, from 8am to 10pm.

A further yellow warning for wind has been issued for north-west Scotland on Sunday between 9am and 3pm, with gusts of up to 70mph expected again, according to the Met Office.

Meanwhile, thousands of customers have been left without electricity in Ireland.

An orange wind warning for Cork, Kerry and Waterford came into effect at 7am and will lift at 2pm, while another status orange wind warning is in place for Galway and Mayo until 6pm. A yellow wind warning is in place nationwide until 8pm.

Power outages reported on Saturday morning were concentrated in the south and west of the country.

Forecaster Met Éireann has warned of gale force southerly winds bringing a risk of difficult travel conditions, fallen trees, power outages and flooding along coastal areas.

In Northern Ireland, the Met Office issued a yellow wind warning for counties Antrim, Armagh, Down, Fermanagh, Tyrone and Derry, which will stay in place from 8am until 10pm.

It has warned of blustery showers in parts of the region, with strong to gale force southerly winds and possibly severe gales for a time along the Down and Antrim coasts.

There could be gusts of up to 70mph in some exposed and coastal areas.

Temperatures could reach 22C in East Anglia on Saturday as warm air comes in from the continent.

The Met Office meteorologist Ellie Glaisyer said: “The storm is the reason we are seeing the warmer temperatures, because the location of the storm – situated out towards the west of the UK – is bringing a southerly wind across the UK.

“This is bringing those warmer temperatures from the continent, meaning we are likely to see temperatures reaching 22C.”
The highest temperature of the year so far was 19.9C, recorded at the end of January at Achfary in north-west Scotland.

Glaisyer said: “Almost anywhere is going to see above-average temperatures. Western parts of the UK are likely to see temperatures of 15 or 16C.

“However, the further west you are, where those strongest winds are in that yellow warning area, despite the temperatures being above average it will feel a little colder.”
The forecaster said winds would stay strong into Sunday, particularly in northern parts of Scotland.

“There will still be some showers around, but there should be some sunshine between those showers,” Glaisyer said. “It is generally remaining unsettled through much of next week.

“There is another area of low pressure moving towards the UK through Monday and into Tuesday. That is likely to bring some heavy rain for much of the UK, particularly in the west.”
Storm Kathleen, named by the Irish meteorological service Met Eireann, is the 11th named storm in eight months.

It is only the second time in a UK storm season that the letter K has been reached in the alphabet.