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UK to be battered by Storm Aiden and remnants of hurricane

Storm Aiden and the remnants of Hurricane Zeta are set to batter the UK over the Halloween weekend.

The Met Office has predicted wet and windy weather for the entire nation, with a storm moving from the west on Saturday followed by the tail edge of a hurricane on Sunday.

Yellow weather warnings for rain are in place until 7pm on Saturday for Ireland and the west coast of England, Scotland and Wales where travel disruption and potential power cuts are expected.

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said he expects flooding could happen “almost anywhere” as the nation is set for a drenching this weekend.

He added Storm Aiden is expected to bring wet and windy weather to all parts of the UK, moving from the west to the east throughout Saturday.

Wind speeds are expected to reach highs of up to 75mph on the islands off Scotland, with up to 70mph winds on the west coast.

Lifeguards rescued a man at 5am on Saturday morning after his yacht was capsized by a “large freak wave” off the Isles of Scilly, south-west England.

Falmouth Coastguard’s helicopter and an RNLI lifeboat rescued the French man and his 34-foot yacht six miles from the coast.

Ian Guy, duty controller at the National Maritime Operations Centre, said: “The yachtsman described being hit by a large freak wave which capsized, rolled and disabled the vessel and with a such a severe gale forecast for the area this morning, it was important to get assistance out to this small sailing vessel quickly.

“Happily, the skipper of the vessel is uninjured and the RNLI crew of the St Marys lifeboat were able to secure a tow in challenging conditions and bring the vessel into harbour on the Isles of Scilly.”

Mr Petagna said: “Overnight it will be less blustery with some clear spells, though showers could continue in Scotland.

Autumn weather
People make their way along Bournemouth pier in Dorset, as the Met Office has said Storm Aiden will hit the west coast first on Saturday (Andrew Matthews/PA)

“On Sunday we are seeing more rain to come from the south west, again affecting the whole of the UK.

“This is gradually quietening down coming into next week, when we will see a big change towards more settled weather.”

He added the most likely time for respite from the weekend rain will be Saturday evening.

Scotland is set to be the worst-hit by floods, as there are 12 warnings in place for areas on the west coast, and regions including Dundee and Angus, Tayside, and Orkney islands.

Autumn weather Oct 29th 2020
A surfer rides a wave in the sea off of Boscombe beach beach in Dorset, as Storm Aiden is set to propel gale-force winds of up to 70mph across the south-west coast on Saturday (Andrew Matthews/PA)

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has also issued 11 flood alerts on Saturday for areas where flooding is likely.

The Environment Agency has issued 17 flood alerts for locations scattered across England from Cumbria to Bournemouth, and Natural Resources Wales has put 33 alerts in place.

Temperature-wise, Mr Petagna said the weekend is looking “very mild for this time of year” with Saturday highs of 16C in the south and up to 11C in the north, with a similar outlook on Sunday.

For southern areas including London and some of the Home Counties, this weekend marks a rainy end to what could be the wettest month on record.