As storm names go, 'Dudley' may sound on the harmless and cute side, but from 3pm tomorrow until 4am the following day, there's a strong chance it could bring treacherous weather conditions with ugly consequences.

Wirral finds itself in a Met office Yellow weather warning zone stretching from well beyond Glasgow and down to the Midlands.

A Yellow warning is the lowest tier of alerts issued by the Met Office, ascending through Amber to Red.

But that doesn't mean Storm Dudley can be approached without caution. It wasn't that long ago - late November last year - that Storm Arwen hit the Heswall area and wider Wirral, bringing down trees, cutting power and causing considerable disruption.

National Highways head of road safety Jeremy Phillips said: "We're encouraging drivers to check the latest weather and travel conditions before setting off on journeys and consider if their journey is necessary and can be delayed until conditions improve.

"If you do intend to travel, then plan your journey and take extra care, allowing more time for your journey."

The wild weather is set to continue beyond Thursday, as in Dudley's wake follows Storm Eunice - which will track across central areas of the UK the next day, with more strong winds anticipated, including gusts of 60-70 miles per hour, and possibly even stronger in some places.