'Weather bomb' warning as UK faces torrential rain and strong winds with threat of first named storm of the season - after temperatures hit 26C tomorrow

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 06:57 EDT, 28 September 2026 | Updated: 07:04 EDT, 28 September 2026 Britain could face its first named storm of autumn this week after a summer-like blast of warm weather sees temperatures hit 26C tomorrow.Meteorologists are tracking a deep area of low pressure in the Atlantic Ocean which is undergoing explosive cyclogenesis, commonly known as a 'weather bomb'.Parts of the country could endure a very wet and windy day on Wednesday as a band of heavy rain moves east with severe gales possible in northern areas.A weather bomb officially takes place when the central atmospheric pressure of a low pressure system rapidly falls by at least 24 millibars within a 24-hour period.Forecasters said the incoming system in the north-east Atlantic is set to fall from 987mb to 955mb in 24 hours – a drop of 32mb, and therefore above the threshold.The system will also draw unseasonably warm air across the south tomorrow as the mercury hits 26C, some 2C above the UK's average summer maximum temperature.The wet and windy weather will then sweep in on Wednesday, although conditions will still be very warm with 24C highs. Thursday to Sunday will reach around 21C.Scotland, Northern Ireland and western England and Wales are set to experience the most unsettled weather this week, although no warnings are in place at this stage. The Met Office said Austen, Boelo and Chloe will be the first named storms of the seasonMet Office forecaster Tom Morgan said today that there was an 'unseasonably warm picture as we go through Tuesday and Wednesday, but also much windier'.He explained that the area of low pressure would deepen through tomorrow and into Wednesday, with gusts of 50mph to 70mph possible over the ocean.Mr Morgan added: 'But even around some western coasts, we will see gales, possibly even severe gales as we go into Wednesday. So, something to keep a very close eye on. There could also be some quite large waves around some of our coastlines.'The first named storm of the 2026/27 season will be Storm Austen, in the partnership between the Met Office, Ireland's Met Éireann and the Dutch service KNMI.Met Éireann selected the name in honour of Austen Nagle, the Irish Meteorological Service's first director; and Evelyn Murphy, RTÉ's first woman weather presenter.It comes as much of England remains in drought after a very dry spring and summer that brought successive heatwaves, putting huge pressure on water supplies.While the last month has finally brought some meaningful rain to parched areas, hosepipe bans remain in place with no prospect of being lifted soon.But the situation has been very different for parts of Scotland, where rain has now fallen for 27 consecutive days at Achnagart in the Highlands.Supercharged El Nino conditions in the Pacific which affect weather across the world are expected to put the UK at greater risk of a wet and stormy autumn overall.