There is a risk of severe gales hitting the Isle of Man at the weekend, but Ronaldsway Met Office says it is too early to say whether the first storm of the season will arrive.

There has been speculation in the UK press this week that Storm Amy could hit the British Isles.

But island forecaster David Britton explains there is no certainty as to how deep the approaching low will be and if it will hit the island.

What is clear is that the weather will start to deteriorate this week with more rain and strengthening winds.

Mr Britton said: ‘At the moment we don’t expect the rain to be the main issue but it will be the strong winds.

‘At the moment the UK Met Office is still talking about the uncertainty around the tracking of the deep low and whether it will become the first storm of the season.

‘For the Isle of Man, it depends how far away the low will be from us. At present, it is tracking north of us in Scotland but we will still see some strong winds and possibly severe gales.

‘But things could change depending on how low the deep gets and where it is tracking.’

Thursday will see strong winds with some heavy bursts of rain with highs of 15C. There will be some sunshine on Friday but more rain and strong winds will buffet the island. There will be highs of 16C.

The weather looks set to deteriorate further at the weekend with strong winds and rain on Saturday which will be heavier later in the day with highs of 16C.

But Sunday looks the worst day with a risk of severe gales although the rain will turn to isolated showers as the day progresses.

A weather warning for coastal overtopping remains in place until 4pm on Thursday due to the very high tides and the strong winds.