Britain could face its first named storm of autumn this week with 50mph gusts after a summer-like blast of warm weather sees temperatures hit 27C tomorrow.

Meteorologists are tracking a deep area of low pressure in the Atlantic Ocean which is undergoing explosive cyclogenesis, commonly known as a 'weather bomb'.

Parts of the country could endure a very wet and windy day on Wednesday as a band of heavy rain moves east with severe gales possible in northern areas.

A weather bomb is officially declared when the central atmospheric pressure of a low pressure system rapidly falls by at least 24 millibars within a 24-hour period.

Forecasters said the incoming system in the north-east Atlantic is set to fall from 987mb to 955mb in 24 hours – a drop of 32mb, and therefore above the threshold.

The system will also draw unseasonably warm air across the south tomorrow as the mercury hits 27C, some 2C above the UK's average summer maximum temperature.

Tomorrow evening, western areas of the country will turn increasingly wet and windy as a weather front gradually moves from west to east by the end of the day.

Wet and windy weather will hit more widely on Wednesday, although conditions will still be very warm with 24C highs. Thursday to Sunday will reach around 21C.

Met Office chief forecaster Matthew Lehnert said: 'A deep area of low pressure far into the Atlantic is the primary driver behind the UK's weather over the next few days.

'Its first influence will help pull some warmer air over much of the country on Tuesday, with a peak of 27C likely – which is notably warm for the time of year.

'A warm night will follow across southern and eastern areas, with minimum temperatures of 19C in places.'

Scotland, Northern Ireland and western England and Wales are set to experience the most unsettled weather this week, although no warnings are in place at this stage.

Met Office deputy chief forecaster Steven Keates said: 'As this weather front moves gradually from west to east late on Tuesday and Wednesday, many places will see around 10mm of rain, with in excess of 40mm possible in some isolated spots in south-facing hills in the west.

'This period of weather will also see gusty winds, with gusts over 50mph possible, particularly on exposed coasts in the north-west. Large waves are likely to affect some coasts in the west, coinciding with high spring tides.'

Thursday and Friday will likely experience further rain or heavy showers, but there should also be some drier and brighter spells.

High pressure will gradually build in much of the UK over the weekend, reducing the chances of any rainfall and bringing a weekend of pleasant weather for many, with some sunshine and any light showers increasingly confined to the far north-west.

Mr Keates said: 'There's a good degree of confidence that high pressure will become more dominant over the weekend with lots of dry and fine weather for many.

'Temperatures will generally be around average for the time of year, with this high pressure likely to linger for at least the start of next week.'

The first named storm of the 2026/27 season will be Storm Austen, in the partnership between the Met Office, Ireland's Met Éireann and the Dutch service KNMI.

Met Éireann selected the name in honour of Austen Nagle, the Irish Meteorological Service's first director; and for the fifth storm of the season, the weather service celebrated Evelyn Murphy, RTÉ's first woman weather presenter.

It comes as much of England remains in drought after a very dry spring and summer that brought successive heatwaves, putting huge pressure on water supplies.

While the last month has finally brought some meaningful rain to parched areas, hosepipe bans remain in place with no prospect of being lifted soon.

But the situation has been very different for parts of Scotland, where rain has now fallen for 27 consecutive days at Achnagart in the Highlands.

Supercharged El Nino conditions in the Pacific – which affect weather across the world – are expected to put the UK at greater risk of a wet and stormy autumn overall.