Unlike Storm Bert on 23 and 24 November, which brought widespread flooding, Storm Darragh’s threat to the West Country will be more focused on strong winds.
Nonetheless, rain from Darragh has the potential to cause some problems, given existing sensitivities to flooding. Between 15 to 25mm of rain looks likely between Friday to Sunday, with Exmoor likely to see a fair bit more.
It is very likely that Storm Bert has already weakened or damaged some trees or structures, leaving them particularly vulnerable, which may be further exacerbated once the strong winds shift to a north-westerly direction overnight Friday into Saturday.
Trees are frequently exposed to winds from the south-west to west and are more resilient to those. However, unusually strong winds from other less common directions can add extra stress to trees and so increase potential for damage or toppling.
Keep across the Met Office warnings, as revisions are always possible to those already issued for Friday and into the weekend.