Schools are set to be closed and ferries cancelled as Storm Abigail batters Britain with 100mph gales tomorrow.
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As well as the new naming convention, weather warnings will still be issued in the normal way.
“Saturday and Sunday we are expecting gale force winds in the 40s, not a major amount, but a lot of the United Kingdom will be affected by gusts of 50-60mph”.
“The strongest winds over the Northern Isles will occur on Friday morning before becoming less strong on Friday afternoon”.
Ahead of the storm’s arrival on Thursday evening gusty showers will build up across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and northern England on Wednesday – but in Ashbourne the effects will be far less severe.
Yellow warnings have been added for the rest of Scotland between 6pm today and 2pm on Friday.
Caledonian MacBrayne, Scotland’s main inter-island ferry service, said 24 of its 26 routes were disrupted Thursday. They should listen to radio reports, visit the Traffic Scotland website or twitter feed and take note of the latest police advice.
“The strong winds combined with high tides are likly to cause overtopping of coasts and causeways leading to additional hazards”.
Emma Sharpels of the Met Office said: “Disruption to travel is a possibility and in the area of the amber warning there could be disruption to power sources”.
“It is also asked that communities look out for vulnerable neighbours”.
The Scottish Environmental Protection Agency issued two warnings in Dumfries & Galloway, Argyll & Bute and Ayrshire & Arran.
Three regional flood alerts have also been issued for Dumfries & Galloway, Argyll & Bute and Ayrshire & Arran.
The Met Office announced its Name Our Storms project in September, and thousands of suggestions were emailed in including winners such as Nigel, Gertrude, Rhonda, Phil and Steve.
Parts of the north west are expected to be battered by high winds and thunderstorms over the next few days as Storm Abigail makes landfall.
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Where there are disruptions to power the public are advised to call SSE on 0800 300 999.
