Super typhoon Soudelor could cause storms in UK

A strong typhoon superstorm heading to Asia could have a knock-on effect and cause storms in the UK.

Typhoon Soudelor is set to cause havoc in parts of Taiwan, Japan and China this weekend, and is thought to be the strongest of 2015.

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According to weather.com, Friday's 5am EDT bulletin from the Joint Typhoon Warning Centre (JTWC) said Soudelor had strengthened into the equivalent of a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph with higher gusts.

The site said Soudelor's 'eyeball' is just hours from slamming into Taiwan, and could strengthen before landfall.

Indeed, it's already feeling the effects, as an eight-year-old girl has died after being swept out to sea off Taiwan, reports the Guardian.

Thousands have been forced to flee and troops have been placed on standby to help residents and tourists.

Now forecasters are suggesting that if the storm veers north of China, a knock-on effect could see Britain battered by strong winds and rain.

According to the Express, Leon Brown, meteorologist at The Weather Channel, said: "Storms in this region are usually too far away to affect the weather in the UK, but this year there is an unusually high number of very powerful storms.

"It becomes an issue in the UK if one of these pushes northwards across China, it will then be capable of affecting the jet stream."

The Mirror reports that he added: "This could either lead to wetter more unstable winter weather or if the jet is pushed southwards, a colder outlook for Britain."

Leon added however, that this weekend Britain will be set for fine weather with temperatures reaching 27C.

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