Weather forecasters have warned that northern Britain is likely to experience the tail end of Hurricane Katia later this weekend, with a risk of 70mph winds, flooding, downed trees and transport disruption.

At moments like this, the awful example of weatherman Michael Fish rises like a wraith, with his famous dismissal of a hurricane in 1987 on the night before one descended. But the Met Office said that the winds expected to hit Scotland, northern England and northern Wales on Sunday will count as a post-tropical storm. If so, they will be the culmination of a wet and windy weekend across the whole country, extending into the start of next week.

Michael Dukes of MeteoGroup UK, the Press Association's weather division, said winds of up to 70mph have been predicted, which could result in flash flooding and trees coming down, causing structural damage and travel delays.

Katia is the 11th hurricane of the season, following Irene, which caused extensive damage on the US east coast. The 12th, Lee, is barrelling into the Gulf of Mexico.