Storm Diana tracker – latest updates as UK set for heavy downpours and damaging winds

STORM Diana is set to smash into Britain in the coming days with damaging winds and heavy rains.

Here is what we know about the wild weather system.

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Where is Storm Diana now?

On Thursday Storm Diana, named by the IPMA Portuguese weather service, is currently moving across western Britain.

What is the latest forecast?

Warnings are in place from 3am last night until 3pm on Thursday with as much as two inches of rain brought in on the winds.

It will be a very windy day for all with gales or severe gales, especially in the north and west, according to forecasters.

The Met Office say rain is likely for most places, with the heaviest showers over Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Diana is expected to make landfall in just hours along the west coast of Britain from Cornwall to the Shetland Islands.

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Why are some UK storms given names?

Analysis has shown that naming storms makes people more aware of the severe weather and helps them prepare in advance.

So European weather forecasters decided to follow the US system of giving girls and boys' names to tropical storms and hurricanes.

Storm Diana was named by Portuguese weather agency IPMA due to its effects first being felt by the Azores.

In the winter season of 2016/17, the names included Angus, Barbara, Conor and Doris.

Surveys showed people were more aware of the threat and more likely to take action after hearing the name of a storm, rather than a forecast simply saying bad weather is on the way.

For example, 89 per cent of people said they were aware of the approaching Storm Doris – which wreaked havoc in February 2017 – and 94 per cent said warnings were useful.

The Met Office and Met Eireann's joint list of names for 2017/2018 includes Larry, Victor and Hector among the male choices, with Georgina, Maeve and Winifred among the female names.

The reason this one has been named Storm Emma is because that's the name given by the Portuguese met office where it originated - the UK met office take on the name allocated as it crosses international borders.

As in the US system, they follow in alphabetical order with alternating male and female names.

A male name, Angus, was first last year so this year the first was female, Aileen.