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Monday, January 26, 2026

UK braces for severe wind and rain as Storm Chandra named

This post was originally published on this site.

A large wave crashes against a breakwater with a lighthouse sending up a big spray of foamBBC Weather Watchers/MattFacey

Severe weather warnings for wind and rain have been issued ahead of the expected arrival of Storm Chandra.

Chandra has been named by the UK Met Office and is due to hit the UK on Tuesday.

It is the third major storm to hit the UK this month after Goretti and Ingrid, which caused significant damage and disruption.

Chandra will be accompanied by multiple hazards, widely heavy and persistent rain, and gales or even severe gales in exposed areas.

Severe weather warnings issued

Map of Northern Ireland showing the Met Office amber warning area.

The Met Office has issued an amber wind warning for Northern Ireland to accompany Storm Chandra.

The warning is in place for eastern parts of Northern Ireland, from 05:00 on Tuesday until 21:00.

Winds will escalate with coastal gales, even severe gales and damaging gusts of up to 75mph (120km/h).

These sort of wind speeds will lead to large coastal waves which are likely to overtop the sea walls and promenades.

Map of southwest England showing the Met Office amber warning area

It has also issued an amber warning for heavy rain from 17:00 Monday until 09:00 Tuesday for south-west England.

30-50mm rainfall is likely widely, with 60-80mm across some higher ground, especially south Dartmoor.

These areas have already had a large amount of rain, so there is a risk of flooding as more rain falls on ground that is currently saturated.

Pressure chart for Tuesday showing the bulls eye low pressure which has been named storm Chandra

Yellow warnings – the least severe level of warning – are more numerous:

  • Northern Ireland, valid from 12:00 Monday until 18:00, for persistent rain and flood risk with 10 to 20mm widely, up to 40mm over the hills.

  • South-west England and Wales, valid from 15:00 Monday until 12:00 Tuesday, for 20 to 30mm widely, but as much as 80mm over Dartmoor, Exmoor and Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons).

  • South-east England, valid from midnight Tuesday until midday and mentions 15 to 25mm of rain widely, with twice as much over higher ground such as the Chilterns.

  • Northern Ireland, valid Tuesday 02:00 until 21:00, for damaging winds, gusts in exposed parts up to 70mph (113km/h) accompanied by another 15 to 25mm of rain widely, 40 to 50mm over the hills.

Is flooding likely?

List of places across the UK, illustrating percentage rainfall amounts for January so far. Aboyne tops the list having had over twice it's average rainfall amount.

Storm Chandra is hitting hot on the heels of Goretti and Ingrid, bringing more soaking rains with little time between for the water to flow away and the rivers fully recover.

This continuing rain really heightens the flood risk.

The wind will also be a threat, as strong winds from Goretti and Ingrid have already battered parts of the UK this month, notably in south-west England.

As a result, many structures may have been weakened, trees may have been left vulnerable as well as power lines.

Why has the storm been named Chandra?

Table showing the 2025/26 UK storm names.  Amy, Bram, Chandra, Dave, Eddie, Fionnuala, Gerard, Hannah, Isla, Janna, Kasia, Lilith, Marty, Nico, Oscar, Patrick, Ruby, Stevie, Tadhg, Violet, Wubbo.BBC / Getty images

In the UK, the Met Office work with Ireland’s Met Éireann or the Netherlands’ KNMI in naming a storm when they are forecast to cause “medium” or “high” impacts.

The list of storm names is announced on 1 September each year and runs in alphabetical order.

The season started with Amy in October, followed by Bram in early December 2025.

Next names on our list will be Dave, Eddie and Fionnuala.

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