Storm Otto to pound England and Scotland, see devastating pictures

Key takeaways:

• The Met Office has alerted of giant waves on North Sea shores.

The first named storm of the year, Storm Otto, is predicted to strike areas of Scotland and England on Friday. The Met Office told winds of 60-70 mph were probably – as high as 80mph on exposed coasts in northern Scotland.

England and Scotland to be battered by Storm Otto:

A yellow alert has been issued from 03:00 to 15:00 for nearly all of Scotland and another from 05:00 to 14:00 for the Borders and northeast England.

Possible effects include large waves on North Sea shores as well as a chance of some harm to buildings.

Ferry operator CalMac has already alerted consumers of trouble with services between Scotland’s west coast mainland and islands.

The Mountain Weather Information Service told it as a strong Atlantic storm, cautioning that upland parts from Scotland to the Pennines could see gusts of up to 100mph.

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The storm has been titled Otto by the Danish Met Office. The UK Met Office has assumed the same name.

It is the first named hurricane to strike the UK since Franklyn last February. The Met Office’s season for named storms varies from September to September, and the names are given to increase awareness of severe climate.

Chief meteorologist Andy Page stated: “Storm Otto will get high winds and showers to the UK, with some northern areas of Scotland and the northeast of England probably to get the strongest gusts of wind, perhaps over 75mph.

“Alarms have been issued and could be revised as Storm Otto develops.” “There’s a possibility of travel disruption, and high-sided cars could be especially prone to disrupted plans in this set-up. There is an associated shower with Storm Otto, with 40-50 mm of rain probably falling over western Scotland areas.”

Before this month, aircraft and ferry services in the Highlands and the Western Isles were disrupted by 75mph winds.