STORM Brendan is set to hit the UK tomorrow with 1,500-mile wide 100mph "double weather bomb" including hurricane-force gales, 50ft waves, floods and snow.

Britain's wildest week of weather could see Storm Brendan bring power cuts, property damage, toppled trees and travel chaos to the UK, with the West and South worst-hit.

A man is feared to have been swept out to sea by large waves on the Blackpool seafront as the country braces for strong winds from Storm Brendan.

Concerns were raised late on Saturday by a member of the public after they looked down from the promenade and saw a man on the beach very close to the water.

HM Coastguard launched an intensive search of the area last night and this morning but no trace of anyone has been found.

RAC spokesman Simon Williams told people to "take extra care" as 7,000 RAC call-outs are expected when the storm strikes on Monday.

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He said: "Don't get caught by one of winter's fiercest storms so far."

The torment is a "double weather bomb" because the Met Office forecasts showed the storm is strengthening as its air pressure plunges by around 48 millibars in 24 hours – double the 24 millibars needed to qualify as a "weather bomb".

The Met Office forecast 70-90mph gusts on West and South coasts and 55mph inland, while The Weather Outlook warned 100mph-plus gusts are forecast on Scotland's high ground.

Waves the height of a five-storey building at 50ft are due just off the west coast of Scotland, with 32ft waves hitting the Western Isles and 22ft in Cornwall.

The Environment Agency also warned of floods from waves and downpours.

The Met Office added: "A 'weather bomb' is not a perfect meteorological term but is defined as an intense low pressure system with a central pressure that falls 24 millibars in a 24-hour period."

Met Office forecaster Marco Petagna said on Sunday: “Storm Brendan brings risks of short-term power loss and transport delays on Monday, with gusts up to 80mph locally in the North-West.

"Thursday sees another system with potential for severe gales similar in strength to Tuesday's gusts, with the West including Scotland most at risk."

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