Storm Ingrid heads for Britain, raising flood fears in Scotland, Wales and southwest England

Storm Ingrid swept toward Britain on Friday as forecasters warned that another burst of heavy rain and strong winds could trigger flooding in already saturated parts of Scotland, Wales and south‑west England.

The slow‑moving Atlantic storm, named Ingrid by Portugal’s national meteorological service earlier this week, is expected to bring its worst conditions from early Friday through Saturday morning. The U.K. Met Office has issued multiple yellow weather warnings for rain and wind and an amber warning for heavy rain in eastern Scotland, signaling a risk to life from floodwater in some areas.

“An area of low pressure, named Storm Ingrid by the Portuguese national weather service, will bring spells of heavy rain and strong winds across much of southwest England on Friday before easing on Saturday morning,” Neil Armstrong, a chief forecaster at the Met Office, said in a briefing.

“The system is slow‑moving but will bring more than 20mm of rain for some which is falling on saturated ground, increasing the chances of impacts,” he said. “In addition to rain, large waves and gusty winds are likely, especially along southern coasts, with 60mph peaks possible, with 45–50mph inland.”

Southwest England and Wales: yellow warnings for rain and wind

The main yellow warning for rain and wind covers Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Dorset and the Isles of Scilly, as well as much of south Wales, from 2 a.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Saturday. Forecasters say an initial band of rain could drop 10 to 20 millimeters in just a few hours early Friday, followed by further pulses of rain later in the day that bring totals of 15 to 20 millimeters widely and up to 30 to 40 millimeters in places by Saturday morning.

While those numbers are typical of a winter storm, they are falling on ground that has been soaked by a series of recent weather systems, including Storm Goretti earlier in January. Rivers are running high, fields are waterlogged and drains in some urban areas are already under strain.

Eastern Scotland: amber warning and higher flood risk

In eastern Scotland, the risk is higher. An amber warning for heavy rain covers parts of Perth and Kinross, Stirling, Angus, Dundee, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, Moray, northern Fife and sections of the Highlands. Within that zone, the Met Office says many places are likely to receive 30 to 60 millimeters of rain, with 80 to 120 millimeters possible on the most exposed high ground facing strong southeasterly winds.

The warning cites “a small chance of fast‑flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life.”

By Friday morning, Scotland’s environment watchdog had already escalated its alerts. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency said it had 26 flood warnings and seven broader flood alerts in force, covering catchments from the north‑east coast to central rivers. The agency warned of rapidly rising water levels, a risk of flooded roads and the possibility that some communities could become temporarily cut off.

Emergency crews in Aberdeenshire reported rescuing three people from vehicles stranded in floodwater as levels rose on local roads, underscoring how quickly conditions can deteriorate when heavy rain falls on saturated ground.

Coastal impacts and travel disruption

In England, the Environment Agency issued flood warnings and alerts for rivers and estuaries in the South West, including the River Teign and low‑lying estuaries in south Devon. Officials cautioned that high tides combined with Ingrid’s onshore winds and large waves could lead to flooding of coastal roads, promenades and some properties along parts of the Cornish, Devon and Bristol Channel coasts.

Natural Resources Wales placed much of the Welsh coastline on flood alert, particularly around estuaries where strong south‑westerly winds are expected to push water levels higher than normal.

Transport operators across the warning areas advised passengers to check before they travel. The Met Office said delays to road, rail, air and ferry services were “likely,” with spray and surface water on roads making for difficult driving conditions and a chance of road closures in the worst‑hit spots. Rail operators in Scotland said they were monitoring for landslips, fallen trees and flooded tracks, especially on lines that run through steep or river‑adjacent terrain.

Less wind than earlier storms, but rain is the main threat

Forecasters stressed that Ingrid is not expected to produce the kind of hurricane‑force gusts that brought down power lines and damaged buildings during some previous winter storms. During Storm Goretti earlier this month, gusts of 80 to 100 mph were recorded in parts of western Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, prompting rare red wind warnings and leaving thousands of homes without electricity.

By contrast, Ingrid’s winds are forecast to peak around 60 mph along exposed coasts, with 45 to 50 mph inland. That is still strong enough to bring down branches, blow around unsecured objects and, in combination with saturated soils, topple some trees—but the main concern is how long the rain lingers.

Why the storm is called Ingrid

The storm is the latest in a string of named systems in the 2025–26 European windstorm season. Ingrid was named on Jan. 20 by Portugal’s national weather and sea agency (IPMA) when models showed it would drive very large waves and strong winds into the country’s Atlantic coast.

As the low pressure system curved northeast, its character shifted from marine hazard to inland flood threat. The Met Office, which operates a joint storm‑naming program with the Irish and Dutch weather services for systems affecting north‑west Europe, follows an agreement with neighboring agencies to use whichever name is given first by a European partner when a storm crosses between naming regions.

Climate context and advice to residents

Scientists caution against attributing any single storm directly to climate change, but say a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, increasing the potential for intense rainfall, while rising sea levels raise the baseline for coastal flooding.

For residents in the path of Ingrid, the focus on Friday and into the weekend was on immediate precautions. Emergency planners urged people in flood‑prone areas to move valuables upstairs where possible, avoid walking or driving through floodwater, and stay away from exposed coastal fronts where large waves were expected to crash over sea walls.

The Met Office said conditions should gradually improve on Saturday as Ingrid’s rain bands move away and winds ease, but warned that rivers may continue to rise for some hours after the heaviest rain ends and that residual flooding could linger into the weekend.

As one more Atlantic storm spreads its rain from Cornwall’s cliffs to the glens of eastern Scotland, the concern among forecasters and emergency managers is less about peak gusts on a weather chart than about accumulated stress: on rivers and soils, on flood defences and rail embankments, and on communities that have already spent much of this winter watching the water inch closer to their doors.