Britain will be hit by Storm Amy which is forecast to bring 80mph winds and torrential rain to parts of the country on Friday and Saturday, the Met Office said today.

The first named storm of autumn will be a separate weather system forming to the east of Hurricanes Humberto and Imelda, which are also heading across the Atlantic.

Northern and western areas of the UK are expected to be worst hit by Storm Amy, with its development being influenced by the remnants of Humberto and Imelda.

Meteorologists said the hurricanes had accelerated the Atlantic jet stream which had contributed to the formation and intensification of Storm Amy in the ocean.

The Met Office has imposed a 31-hour yellow rain warning for western Scotland from 5pm today until the end of tomorrow, after which Storm Amy will officially arrive. A 12-hour rain warning from Friday midday to midnight is also in place for a similar area. 

A 30-hour yellow wind warning for all of Scotland as well as North West England and North Wales then runs from 6pm on Friday until the end of Saturday. A separate 14-hour wind warning for Northern Ireland will run from 4pm Friday until 6am Saturday.

During the first rain alert, forecasters said areas could be ‘cut off by flooded roads or landslides’, while flooding could cause ‘difficult driving conditions’ and road closures.

Power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses are also possible, while flooding could damage buildings and cause train cancellations.

When the wind warning begins, the Met Office said tiles could be blown from roofs and damage homes; while delays to road, rail, air and ferry services will be likely.

Power cuts and mobile phone coverage outages are also possible along with ‘injuries and danger to life from flying debris’ while ‘some roads and bridges could close’.

There is also a chance that ‘injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown onto sea fronts, coastal roads and properties’.

Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Tom Crabtree said there was ‘still some uncertainty about the exact track Storm Amy will take’.

But he added: ‘The system will bring gale force winds across northern and western regions, with gusts widely reaching 50 to 60mpg inland in northern Britain, and potentially reaching 70 to 80mph in places, with even stronger gusts on exposed coasts and hills, mainly in the North West.

‘Heavy rainfall is also expected, in particularly over western Scotland, where totals could exceed 30 to 50mm in six to nine hours, increasing the risk of localised flooding.

‘Forecasts and warnings will be updated as the situation becomes more clear, therefore it is important to keep an eye forecast for your area over the coming days.’

Marco Petagna, senior operational meteorologist at the Met Office, tweeted that there would be a ‘conveyor belt of rain associated with waving weather fronts’. 

He added that Storm Amy is expected undergo rapid cyclogenesis on Friday.

Also known as a ‘weather bomb’, this is when the central pressure of a low pressure system falls 24 millibars in 24 hours.

Yesterday, Mr Petagna also said: ‘Ten inches of rain not out of the question over the highest ground in western Scotland in the next few days… pretty incredible rainfall totals.’ 

The Met Office expects possible disruption to transport, power supplies and outdoor activities, especially from Friday evening into Saturday.

Martin Thomson from Transport Scotland said: ‘Storm Amy is set to bring heavy rain and strong winds to parts of Scotland and we expect to see disruption to the transport network in the warning areas.

‘The rain and wind will bring difficult driving conditions, such as reduced visibility and surface water, and are also likely to affect the ferry and rail networks, so it’s important to plan your journey ahead of time.

‘Motorists should use the Traffic Scotland website before they set off to make sure that their route is available, and you should check with your operator if you are planning to travel on trains, ferries and flights.’

RAC breakdown spokesman Simon Williams said: ‘The combination of high winds and rain will make driving treacherous. We strongly advise only making journeys that are absolutely essential.

‘Anyone who has to brave the conditions in the worst-affected areas will have to contend with gale-force gusts, surface water that lengthens stopping distances and floods that pose a risk to life and could cause catastrophic vehicle damage.

‘The strength of the wind will also inevitably lead to dangerous debris on the roads. Staying put until conditions ease is the best advice.’

In the Atlantic today, the outer bands of Humberto lashed Bermuda ahead of a more direct pass from the newer and stronger Imelda on the British overseas territory. 

Imelda – the Atlantic season’s fourth hurricane this year – had maximum sustained winds of 85mph and its centre was expected to be near the island this evening, the US National Hurricane Center said.

A hurricane warning for Bermuda was in effect ahead of Imelda, which was expected to strengthen into a Category 2 hurricane and hit the island with sustained hurricane-force winds for up to six hours.

Far northwest of the island, Humberto was still hurricane strength with 80mph winds last night, and the Category 1 storm was moving east-northeast at 10mph.

Five unoccupied houses along North Carolina’s Outer Banks collapsed into the ocean yesterday as strong waves rolled in from the Atlantic.

Earlier this week, Imelda battered eastern Cuba, killing two people. Flooding and landslides also cut off communities and forced evacuations.

One person was also missing in Haiti after Imelda swelled rivers and caused flooding in 35 communities. Imelda also flooded parts of the Bahamas on Monday.

In the UK, Amy is first in the list of this year’s storm names put together by the Met Office with Ireland’s Met Eireann and the Dutch national weather forecasting service KNMI.

The Met Office and its partners have been naming storms since 2015, with the list running from early September to the following August.

This is to coincide with the start of autumn, when the likelihood of low-pressure systems and the potential for storms severe enough to be named increases.

In the last year, six storms were named, reaching the letter F with Storm Floris on August 1.

Under naming conventions used for storms in the North Atlantic, the list runs alphabetically, missing out Q, U, X, Y and Z, and names are drawn from submissions from the public in the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands.

The first name in this year’s list, Amy, was the most popular female name submitted to the Met Office.

Storms are given a name when they are deemed to have the potential to cause medium or high impacts in the UK, Ireland or the Netherlands, with wind the primary focus, although additional issues from rain or snow are also looked at.