UK braces for third major storm in a week as Storm Franklin approaches

Storm is set to hit the UK early on Monday prompting amber warnings across Northern Ireland as thousands remain without power after Storms Dudley and Eunice wrecked grid lines

The UK has faced extreme weather, including floods and heavy snow, after Storm Eunice brought damage, disruption and record-breaking gusts of wind, leading to the deaths of at least four people. PA

Storm Franklin is set to strike the UK only days after Storm Eunice left at least four people dead and 1.4 million homes without power.

Eunice was one of the worst storms to hit the country in decades.

The Met Office said Storm Franklin would land in the early hours of Monday and bring "gale force westerly winds with severe and damaging gusts" and very high seas.

An amber weather warning has been issued for Northern Ireland from midnight until 7am on Monday, with weather warnings also in place for counties on the Republic of Ireland's west coast.

Milder yellow warnings for wind also cover Wales, Northern Ireland and most of England from mid-day on Sunday until 1pm on Monday.

The Met Office said strong winds could cause “travel delays, road and rail closures, power cuts and the potential risk to life and property.”

The UK has been battered by extreme weather over the past week, with successive storms hammering power lines as record winds of up to 196 kilometres per hour swept across Britain. About 83,000 people were still without power on Sunday morning, said the Energy Networks Association.

Thousands were knocked off the grid in the north of England when Storm Dudley, the first of two storms this week, landed in Britain on Wednesday with gale-force winds of more than 120kph. On Friday, the country braced itself for an even fiercer Atlantic storm that prompted a rare Red ‘danger to life’ warning in London, with residents told to ‘stay at home’ and many flights grounded.

Meteorologist Becky Mitchell said this is the first time the national forecaster has recorded three major storms in such quick succession since the naming system was introduced seven years ago.

“At the moment we’ve got a really active jet stream, which is why we’re seeing so many storms track right towards the UK,” she said.

Environment agencies have also issued hundreds of alerts for flooding across the UK.

The Environment Agency has issued 44 flood warnings where “flooding is likely” for areas mainly in the north and west of England, and 117 alerts where “flooding is possible” for the north-western half of the UK, London and the south coast.