The Met Office has issued yellow “be aware” warnings for huge swathes of the UK today (January 2) and Met Éireann in Ireland has issued more severe orange alerts.

Forecasters have warned that Eleanor, which will be the fifth named storm to hit Britain this winter, could pose a “danger to life” in the hardest hit coastal areas. 

The Met Office said: “A spell of strong winds is expected later Tuesday, overnight into Wednesday morning. 

“Combined with a period of high tides, it is likely that some western coastal communities will be affected by large waves and spray, and there is a small chance that injuries and danger to life could occur from large waves and beach material being thrown on to sea fronts, roads and coastal properties. 

“Power cuts and disruption to other services - mobile phones for example - may occur, and there is a small chance of transport disruption or cancellation of public transport.”

Gales of up to 80mph are likely to strike the west coast of the UK this evening, while winds of up to 60mph could sweep across much of the country. 

The Met Office yellow warning comes into effect for northern England, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland at 6pm this evening, lasting until 8am on Wednesday January 3.

A second alert will be put in place for Wales and most of England at between 12.05am and 10pm on Wednesday.

Earlier this morning, the warning was adjusted to bring the northern boundary southwards, and to combine with the warning previously in force for Wednesday.

What time will Storm Eleanor hit the UK?

The latest Met Office weather maps show the outer bands of Storm Eleanor will reach the west coast of Ireland at about midday. 

The weather front will then sweep across the Irish Sea, hitting the west coast of Britain from about 4pm this afternoon. The worst of the weather is expected to reach the UK at about 6pm.  

Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said that the weather will remain mainly pleasant across the UK until later this afternoon when Eleanor starts to move over land.  

“As the evening wears on, all eyes are actually on this band of rain pushing its way in through the course of the evening,” she said.

“So it will bring some heavy rain to parts of Northern Ireland, Wales and northern England in time for the evening rush hour, and eventually rain spreading across southern parts too. 

“But it is the strength of the winds we are keeping a close eye on and we have yellow weather warnings enforced for this as well. 

“We could see quite widely gusts in the region of 50-60mph in inland areas, but along western coasts we could even see the odd gust of 70-80mph.” 

Ms Mitchell warned that these powerful winds combined with high tides could see some damaging coastal impacts. 

The Environmental Agency has issued 56 flood alerts across the entire country with a more serious flood warning in central England.

Meanwhile, Met Éireann has issued amber wind alerts for Munster, Leinster and south Galway, with a yellow alert in place across the rest of Ireland. 

Eleanor comes hot on the heels of Storm Dylan, which struck the UK on New Year’s Day.