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Storm Ciara: The UK will be hit by heavy rain and strong winds this weekend

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people-in-raincoats-with-umbrella.Image source, Getty Images

Get your raincoats, wellies and umbrellas at the ready - it looks set to be a very wet weekend.

Storm Ciara is expected to bring heavy rain and strong winds.

It was named by the Met Office on Wednesday.

Gusts could reach up to 80 miles per hour (mph), with coastal areas seeing even stronger gales.

Weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office for Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north-west of England on Saturday.

There is also a yellow weather warning in place for the whole of the UK for wind and rain on Sunday, and for snow in parts of Scotland and Northern Ireland on Monday and Tuesday.

What is a weather warning?

Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,

Storm Brendan brought heavy rain and strong gusts at the start of the year

It's thought that the storm could disrupt people's travel plans and power networks might struggle.

Frank Saunders, Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office said: "Our confidence in the forecast means we have been able to issue severe weather warnings well in advance, giving people time to prepare for potential impacts of the storm."

Storm Ciara is the third named storm of the 2019-20 winter season. It follows Storm Atiyah, which hit in December and January's Storm Brendan.