Storm Austen could bring 70 mph gusts to southwest England
ITV News maps the Thursday-night arrival across England and Wales, then looks at a second system that could follow over the weekend.
ITV News
Story of Why this story? The video opened at a pace of 881,014 views a day, 33 times a normal first day on this channel (26,739).
What to expect as Storm Austen hits the UK this week
The first named storm of the season may not arrive alone. ITV News' forecast tracks Storm Austen toward England and Wales, with another weather system behind it that could bring further disruption over the weekend.
The immediate concern is Thursday night into Friday morning. The report highlights possible gusts of around 70 mph in Devon and Cornwall, alongside heavy rain. A Met Office yellow wind warning runs from midnight to midday Friday, covering much of the southern coast between Cornwall and Brighton and extending into southern Wales. Damage to homes and transport disruption are possible, the description says.
On the studio maps, the presenter follows Austen's low-pressure system across the country and explains why the warning could change. She calls it a "placeholder warning," saying she expects it to be escalated. That is a forecast of a possible change, not an announcement that the warning has already been upgraded.
The report drew roughly 560,000 views in its opening ten hours, already far beyond the channel's usual first-day audience for regular videos.
Beyond Austen, the outlook offers a brief ridge of high pressure on Saturday before the next system approaches. The presenter says that system would be called Storm Bula if the Met Office names it; at the time of the report, it remains a possibility rather than a second confirmed named storm.
Published on Trari
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- Channel
- ITV News
- Subscribers
- 2,260,000 ▲ 10,000 this week
- Channel views, last 7 days
- 8,452,149
- Channel views, pace per day
- 1,003,637 (on a normal day: 1,339,489)
- Video published
- October 20, 2026
- Video views so far
- 562,376 (less than a day online)
- Video views, pace per day
- 881,014
The numbers
The Storm Austen forecast has already drawn a much larger audience than ITV News' usual first-day regular upload.
💡 Test your knowledge
Which two counties does the report highlight for Austen's strongest gusts?
The presenter highlights possible gusts of around 70 mph in Devon and Cornwall.