People are being warned to prepare for strong winds and flooding as the remains of Hurricane Gonzalo arrive tonight.
Mercury weatherman Dave Mutton said it was time to "batten down the hatches" as winds of about 50mph sweep across Leicestershire.
He said: "It won't mean hurricane force winds but it will be a severe storm with trees coming down and tiles coming off roofs.
"With all the fallen leaves blocking drains at this time of year it's also going to cause some flooding and I expect between half an inch and an inch of rain between this evening and midday on Tuesday."
The winds will be much stronger than last week's highest gusts.
Dave said: "It was windy last week but the maximum speed I measured was 36mph, so it will be a lot stronger than that.
"It's probably going to cause a lot of problems."
The Met Office has issued warnings for the UK ahead of the approaching former hurricane, which caused widespread damage and a power blackout when it hit Bermuda last week.
It said there was a danger of delays tomorrow morning with some of the strongest winds coinciding with the morning rush hour.
However, Northern Ireland, northern England, northern Wales, and parts of Scotland are expected to be the worst affected.
A Met Office spokesman said: "The remains of Hurricane Gonzalo will run eastwards across the Atlantic, reaching the UK on Monday night, bringing a period of strong winds and heavy rain to the UK.
"The strongest winds are expected on Tuesday as the low pressure clears eastwards."
In the longer term, Dave said he expected weather to return to average October conditions once the storm had passed.
He said: "It's been a bit warmer than average in the last couple of weeks but today the temperature is about 14C (57F), which is about average for this time of year.
After the storm it should return to normal and there are no signs of wintry weather on the horizon yet."
