Britain battered by 80mph winds as Storm Malik sweeps in

The Met Office has issued a ‘danger to life’ warning as gusts of up to 80mph could batter northern areas of the UK this weekend as Storm Malik sweeps in.

Yellow weather warnings are in place across all of Scotland, northern England and parts of Northern Ireland for most of Saturday as Storm Malik is expected to bring high winds and rain.

There is an amber warning for eastern Scotland, where damaging gusts of wind will likely cause disruption to road, rail, air and ferry services.

Power supplies and mobile phone coverage could also be affected.

The Met Office warned: ‘Injuries and danger to life could occur from flying debris as well as from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties.’

SP Energy Networks, the company responsible for electricity transmission in central and southern Scotland, issued safety advice around potential power cuts.

The company said customers should keep a battery or wind-up torch to hand and keep mobile phones fully charged.

The Met Office has issued a ‘danger to life’ warning as gusts of up to 80mph could batter northern areas of the UK this weekend as Storm Malik sweeps in. Pictured: Beachgoers in rough conditions as a sand storm hits Tynemouth beach this morning

People should also beware of fallen power lines, it said.

Network Rail Scotland said it would introduce some speed restrictions for safety, and have additional staff equipped with chainsaws across the network to deal with fallen trees on tracks.

Named by the Danish Meteorological Institute, Storm Malik is expected to bring in gusts reaching up to 80mph in coastal areas, but more widely 60mph, as it tracks eastwards towards Denmark.

Paul Gunderson, chief meteorologist for the Met Office, said: ‘The impacts of Storm Malik are going to be greatest in Denmark on Sunday, but the track of the storm in the preceding hours means that the UK will be dealt a glancing blow as Malik moves eastwards on Saturday.

‘For those in the north of the UK there will be high winds and rain on Saturday, with showers possibly turning wintry in the high ground in the north.

There is an amber warning for eastern Scotland, where damaging gusts of wind will likely cause disruption to road, rail, air and ferry services. Pictured: Larges waves on Blackpool’s north shore

Storm Malik is expected to bring in gusts reaching up to 80mph in coastal areas, but more widely 60mph, as it tracks eastwards towards Denmark. Pictured: A driver had a narrow escape on the A1 near Musselburgh after Storm Malik blew down a large tree onto the road.

The Met Office has placed an amber warning on eastern Scotland until 3pm today for ‘very strong winds and disruption’ that could affect road, rail, air and ferry services. A yellow weather warning remains in place for Scotland and much of northern England until Monday

‘The highest winds are expected in exposed coastal areas in the north and east of Scotland, but it will be a windy day for most.’

Further south, the weekend weather will feature some blustery winds and some rain.

The storm will also drive a cold front southwards, with temperatures set to come down throughout Saturday and widespread frost expected to form across the UK in the night into Sunday.

More very strong winds are expected as another low pressure system moves across northern areas on Sunday, with some snow possible across parts of Scotland.

Another yellow warning for wind is in place for the northern UK from 6pm on Sunday until noon on Monday.