10 October 2005

Drought-affected areas of the Iberian peninsula are likely to see significant amounts of rain over the next few days as Tropical Storm Vince heads towards the coast of Portugal.

Visible satellite image of Tropical Storm Vince, 1415, 10 October 2005

The storm is expected to rapidly decay over the next 24 hours, but with a central pressure of 994 hPa and sustained wind speeds of 60 m.p.h., it is expected to bring heavy rain to areas of Portugal before dying away. The main concern for the UK is how this storm will interact with other weather systems, potentially bringing high-impact weather across the country in coming days.

The track of the disturbance, according to weather models, takes it across the west coast of Portugal during Tuesday. Although there is still some doubt about the exact nature of events over coming days, the remnants of Vince could feed into a depression which is forecast to bring very strong winds and heavy rain towards the UK on Wednesday.

For further details of the weather over the coming days check out the Met Office web site and national or regional broadcasts through the media.