Britons are braced for winds of up to 75mph as forecasters warn the UK faces its first named storm of the season.
Storm Aileen is set to batter parts of Britain overnight and risks damaging trees and buildings as fierce winds sweep across the nation.
An amber warning for wind has been issued for North Wales, England's eastern coast and areas of the Midlands, which are likely to be worst affected, the Met Office said.
Road, air and rail services are also expected to be disrupted and power cuts may occur, with less serious yellow warnings in place from Tuesday evening across the UK.
Chief forecaster Frank Saunders said: “Storm Aileen is expected to bring strong winds of up to 75mph to a central segment of the UK and an amber weather warning has been issued.
"As well as the strong winds, there will be some heavy rain pushing eastwards overnight which could see accumulations of 30-40mm.
"The low pressure system that is bringing these strong winds will move fairly swiftly from west to east over the UK and although there will still be some disruption through Wednesday morning, the winds will ease by the afternoon leaving a day of blustery showers.”
The Met Office dismissed any link between Storm Aileen and the hurricanes across the Atlantic which have pummelled islands in the Caribbean and parts of the US in recent days.
Met Office Deputy Meteorologist Chris Tubbs said: “There are no links between the very strong winds we expect to see here in the UK and the hurricanes affecting the United States and the Caribbean at present.
“This system originated well north in the Atlantic Ocean, independent of the current Caribbean hurricanes. It is a fairly typical autumnal low pressure system often seen here in the UK especially later in autumn.”
The Met Office began naming storms in 2015 to raise awareness of their dangers and prevent confusion of different weather systems. Brian, Caroline and Dylan will follow Aileen as autumn tightens its grip and the UK descends into winter.
