A yellow weather warning for severe gales across the Isle of Wight this weekend has been issued by IW Met Service.
Forecasters warn that a spell of very strong north to northwesterly winds will develop locally early on Saturday morning with gusts of 50-60mph and possibly up to 70mph over the highest hills.
Things will ease a little during the afternoon before strengthening again overnight and into early Sunday morning with gusts once again of 50-60mph, especially over high ground.
Islanders are being warned about the risk of falling tree debris such as leaves, twigs and branches. Perhaps even the odd uprooted tree in the most exposed locations.
Cross-Solent and other transport disruption is possible.
Jamie Russell, Chief Forecaster at IW Met Service, says:
“The system bringing the wind on Saturday is rather unusual, this is because the majority of our gales come from the west-south. This means that places that are often sheltered during storms from the southwest may find that they are completely exposed to the full brunt of the gale, and this may potentially lead to structural damage in a few areas along with lots of tree debris.
“High ground will by far see the worst of the winds with up to 70mph possible here, although due to the wind direction we are not expecting large waves around the Island’s coast, however the northern coasts of the Island will be exceptionally choppy and turbulent.
Article continues below this advertisement “So we must point out that even though the winds in this system are slightly below our standard warning threshold, we have decided to issue a warning due to the above factors”.
