Storm Ashley was the first named storm from the 'western group' list of names, being named by

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. It was also known in Germany as ''Josefine'', being named by

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public university, public research university in Berlin, Germany. It was founded in West Berlin in 1948 with American support during the early Cold War period a ...

Weather warnings

Storm Ashley was forecast to first impact Ireland, thus being named by

Met Éireann Met Éireann (; meaning "Meteorology, Met of Ireland") is the state meteorology, meteorological service of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, part of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. History The history of modern meteorolog ...

. The Met Office issued an amber warning in western Scotland due to the threat of strong winds on Sunday afternoon and evening. In Ireland, Storm Ashley is expected to bring strong and gusty southerly winds western Ireland, combined with high spring tides where an orange wind warning was issued place. This hazardous weather event could lead to several impacts including, coastal flooding, large coastal waves, and displaced objects are possible due to the powerful winds and rising sea levels. Fallen trees could block roads and damage property. The severe weather could make driving hazardous and conditions at sea will be extremely dangerous. Widespread power outages may occur due to damage to power lines. Additionally, buildings that have already been weakened may be further damaged by the strong winds. A wider yellow wind warning was issued for the rest of Ireland for the impacts. After impacting the British Isles a day previously, Ashley impacted western Norway where an orange wind warning was in force for parts of the

Sognefjorden The Sognefjord or Sognefjorden (, ), nicknamed the King of the Fjords (), is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. Located in Vestland county in Western Norway, it stretches inland from the ocean to the small village of Skjolden in the muni ...

Sunnmøre Sunnmøre (, ) is the southernmost traditional district of the western Norwegian county of Møre og Romsdal. Its main city is Ålesund. The region comprises the municipalities () of Fjord, Giske, Hareid, Herøy, Sande, Haram, Stranda Mu ...

regions on the west coast, with a broad yellow warning encompassing it.

Impacts

As the storm passed over the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands (; , ) is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Scottish Lowlands, Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Scots language, Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gae ...

on Sunday night, average wind speeds hit with gusts of at least provisionally recorded at the summit of

Cairn Gorm Cairn Gorm () is a mountain in the Scottish Highlands. It is part of the Cairngorms range and wider Grampian Mountains. With a summit elevation of Height above sea level, above sea level, Cairn Gorm is classed as a Munro and is the sixt ...

. Speed restrictions are in place on rail lines across Scotland due to the high winds, while flights continued to be impacted at Aberdeen Airport this morning. At least four have been cancelled, including one bound for

London Heathrow Airport Heathrow Airport , also colloquially known as London Heathrow Airport and named ''London Airport'' until 1966, is the primary and largest international airport serving London, the capital and most populous city of England and the United Kingd ...

. In England,

National Rail National Rail (NR) is the trading name licensed for use by the Rail Delivery Group, a group representing passenger train operating companies (TOCs) of England, Scotland, and Wales. The TOCs run the passenger services previously provided by ...

said Northern services between

Bolton Bolton ( , locally ) is a town in Greater Manchester in England. In the foothills of the West Pennine Moors, Bolton is between Manchester, Blackburn, Wigan, Bury, Greater Manchester, Bury and Salford. It is surrounded by several towns and vill ...

and

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the River Ribble, Ribble Valley, east of Preston ...

were being blocked by a tree on the line this morning. The Environment Agency had 45 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, in place across England on Monday, including along the south

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

coast and large parts of the

River Severn The River Severn (, ), at long, is the longest river in Great Britain. It is also the river with the most voluminous flow of water by far in all of England and Wales, with an average flow rate of at Apperley, Gloucestershire. It rises in t ...

, after the river burst its banks, submerging the town of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

, the previous day. An injured passenger was airlifted from a ferry between

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

and

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

on Sunday evening after falling on board in rough conditions. Earlier, police said a man, woman and young boy were taken to hospital after experiencing difficulty in the sea at Aberdeen Beach.

Top wind gust

A top windspeed of was recorded at the Cairngorm Summit,

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom.

References

{{reflist European windstorms