UPDATE: Weather experts are continuing to warn people to brace for storm force winds on Sunday night and into Monday as a furious storm barrels towards the Cornish coast.

The storm is expected to make landfall on Monday 28, St Jude's Day, St Jude is the patron saint of desperate cases.

At the peak early in the morning  storm force winds across Cornwall and southern Devon with peak gusts 80 to 90mph around coasts are expected. The severe gales will run along the Channel coasts through the morning with gusts of 80mph.

With many trees still in leaf the high winds may bring down trees and also cause some structural damage to roofs and chimneys

Ahead of the storm will be a large band of moderate to heavy rain with Sunday expected to be very wet, with as much as 30 to 60mm of rain falling, and blustery.

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Cornwall has been warned to brace for an "exceptionally windy spell" with potentially the "strongest winds for years" and heavy rain as a major storm bears down on the county.

The country will be first to feel the brunt of the winds, with the storm set to track along the South Coast from Sunday night..

The Met Office have issued the weather warning for Sunday night and Monday, with the 'amber alert' in place from midnight on Sunday to 9pm on Monday.

Normally Atlantic storms of this type develop much further to the west of the UK and are waning in strength by the time they reach the UK and Ireland.

However the Met Office says this storm is more unusual, developing much closer to the UK and potentially tracking across the country while still in its most powerful phase.

A strong jet stream and warm air close to the UK are both contributing to the development and strength of the storm.

If the storm arrives in line with current predictions, "some areas could see some of their strongest winds for a number of years".

Falmouth Packet:

Amber alerts mean be prepared, as there is a risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures, bringing disruption to transport and power supplies.

A Met Office spokesman said: "A very intense low pressure system is forecast to run northeastwards across the country early on Monday, bringing the potential for an exceptionally windy spell of weather for southern parts of the UK. At the same time, persistent, heavy rain could cause some surface water flooding.

"At this early stage there is uncertainty about the timing, intensity and track of the low. However, the public should be prepared for the risk of falling trees as well as damage to buildings and other structures, bringing disruption to transport and power supplies.

"A strong, high-level jet is expected to engage warm low level air to give rise to a rapidly moving low pressure system later on Sunday. This is expected to run northeastwards, probably across England and Wales, with very strong winds on its southern and western flanks.

"There is the potential for gusts of over 80 mph, especially on exposed coasts, both in southwesterly winds ahead of the low and west to northwesterly winds behind it.

Eddy Carroll, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, said: "This storm doesn't exist at the moment, but our forecasts models predict it is likely to develop in the west Atlantic on Saturday. Then it's likely to rapidly intensify just west of the UK late on Sunday before tracking across England and Wales early on Monday.

"There is still a chance this storm may take a more southerly track and miss the UK, bringing impacts elsewhere in northern Europe, but people should be aware there is a risk of severe weather and significant disruption. With that in mind, people should keep up to date with and act on the advice in our forecasts and warnings as the situation develops."

In this video, Deputy Chief Forecaster Dan Suri explains why there is uncertainty in the forecast and where the storm is coming from.