Britain will squelch its way through autumn’s last stretch in a torrent of wind and rain dumped by the strengthening remains of Hurricane Melissa.
A blast of late-autumn gloom will see heavy downpours and severe gales will hit parts of Britain from today.
To blame are the remains of Hurricane Melissa, the category-5 storm which last week hit Jamaica as the worst storm the region has ever seen.
Although her remains are expected to power up en route across the Atlantic, the UK faces nothing like the devastation seen in the Caribbean.
Met Office meteorologist Alex Burkill said: “The low pressure starts to deepen again as it makes its way across the Atlantic towards us.
“It is going to bring some wet and windy weather into Monday, and so it is going to be unsettled.
“We are talking coastal gales and maybe severe gales, so it is going to be wet and it is going to be windy.
“But the influence on the UK is going to be nowhere near the level that some other countries have had.”
Britons are set to be hit with a lot of wind and rain in the coming days
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Melissa’s remains will zip across the North Atlantic before heading towards Iceland, he said.
Britons should brace for a week-long bout of foul weather which may trigger wind and rain warnings, he added.
He said: “It looks like the low will track across the Atlantic, and then a bit northwards, towards Iceland.
“It is going to be so heavily modified that it is not going to be anywhere near as impactful.
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Alex Burkill describes the path of ex-Hurricane Melissa
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“It is going to be wet, and it is going to be windy, but not anywhere close to what they have been seeing in parts of the Caribbean.”
The filthy forecast has bookmakers jumping with their axe between odds on wind, rain and snow.
Ladbrokes is this week offering 2-1 from 5-1 on November hitting the books for being the wettest ever.
Spokesman Alex Apati said: "It's looking increasingly likely this month will enter the record books for all the wrong reasons.”
Rain will be the bigger issue this week as low-pressure driven weather fronts plough in from the Atlantic.
As the jet stream powers-up, the remains of Hurricane Melissa will join forces with a gaggle of autumn storms.
Jim Dale, meteorologist for British Weather Services and co-author of ‘Surviving Extreme Weather’, said: “The rain will be an issue in parts of the country through this week, probably more than the wind, although there will be the chance of warnings.
“So, it is something that we are keeping our eyes on, with western regions and the north most at risk.
“The remains of Melissa will head to the north of the UK, but there is another low in the Atlantic that it is probably going to join with to bring an unsettled few days.”
A Met Office spokesperson added: “While the focus has been on Hurricane Melissa, there is also the potential for another area of low pressure to develop and affect the UK.
“This system, separate from Melissa, could bring strong winds and outbreaks of rain, particularly to western areas.”