Storm Aiden: Here’s when Scotland’s warm weather will end this week

Scotland is set to be battered by days of rain this week, with forecasters refusing to rule out winds of up to 70mph as the late-Summer sunshine comes to an end.
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Parts of central and western Scotland will see heavy rain from this afternoon, as experts track three separate low pressure systems set to batter the UK in the coming days.

According to Met Office predictions, areas including Glasgow, Stranraer, Fort William, and Kirkwall could be worst affected by the downpour.

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But clear skies, which much of Scotland has enjoyed over the past week, are likely to return on Tuesday, before the second band of low pressure makes landfall on Wednesday.

Scotland’s hump day will start off mostly cloudy with some light showers over the Western Isles, before a band of heavy rain washes over much of the UK’s West coast.

By the early afternoon on Wednesday, much of Scotland will be battered by showers and strong winds - with only parts of the Highlands and the Lothians escaping the deluge.

The rain is likely to ease up on Thursday, though will not disappear completely - particularly in northern Scotland.

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This is how storm names are chosen by the Met Office each year
Parts of central and western Scotland will see heavy rain from this afternoon, as experts track three separate low pressure systems set to batter the UK in the coming days.Parts of central and western Scotland will see heavy rain from this afternoon, as experts track three separate low pressure systems set to batter the UK in the coming days.
Parts of central and western Scotland will see heavy rain from this afternoon, as experts track three separate low pressure systems set to batter the UK in the coming days.
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Friday morning will bring scattered showers with a chance of sunshine in southern and eastern parts of Scotland, though the Met Office warns that the rain could return by the evening as the third area of low pressure hits the UK.

“We can be sure of wet and windy conditions”

Despite the dire forecast, weather experts have not yet put any weather warnings in place for the UK, claiming it is too early to make the decision.

Vicky Mitchell of the Met Office said: “There is too much uncertainty at the moment to say for sure what will happen by the end of the week.

According to Met Office predictions, areas including Glasgow, Stranraer, Fort William, and Kirkwall could be worst affected by the downpour.According to Met Office predictions, areas including Glasgow, Stranraer, Fort William, and Kirkwall could be worst affected by the downpour.
According to Met Office predictions, areas including Glasgow, Stranraer, Fort William, and Kirkwall could be worst affected by the downpour.

“We are tracking three low pressure systems. If one deepens sufficiently, it will probably produce a named storm.”

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If that prediction comes to pass, the storm will officially be named “Aiden”.

The Met Office has produced a list of names for future storms in September each year since 2015.

This year’s list, which runs in alphabetical order, begins with Aiden, followed by Bella, Christoph, Darcy and Evert.

“Whatever happens, we can be sure of wet and windy conditions going into next weekend,” Mitchell continued.

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“We can’t rule out winds of 70mph but it’s anything but certain at the moment.

“It’s on Wednesday that we begin to see that unsettled weather appearing.

“Air from the north has produced lovely days and chilly nights but all that’s about to change.”

When is a storm named?

Storms are named when they meet criteria controlled by the Met Office's National Severe Weather Warnings service.

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It names a storm when it has the potential to cause an amber or red warning.

The decision is based on a combination of both the impact the weather system may have, and the likelihood of those impacts occurring.

Weather types including heavy rain are often considered storms if their impact could lead to flooding, as advised by the Environment Agency, SEPA and Natural Resources Wales.

Weather systems that bring strong winds or snow are also commonly named as storms.

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