The Met Office has upgraded its yellow weather warning, to include parts of North West England, parts of Lancashire included.
The warning is in place until midnight tonight. It covers coastal and western parts of Lancashire, including Blackpool, Cleveleys, Lytham and Lancaster.
A Met Office forecaster has warned of flooding, especially in coastal areas. Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland have been told to expect wind gusts of up to 80mph.
Elsewhere, including Lancashire, wind gusts could reach 60mph. In Blackpool, wind gusts are set to peak at 70mph, around 10pm.
Met Office chief meteorologist, Steve Willington, said: “We could see disruption today and tomorrow, particularly across parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Northern England and West Wales, due to the very strong winds and heavy rain associated with Storm Ashley.
“In addition, the strong winds will coincide with high spring tides, which brings the risk of flooding, especially around the coasts of northern and western Scotland and the northern Irish Sea.
“On Sunday, gusts of 60-70 mph are possible across the west of Northern Ireland and perhaps as high as 70-80 mph in exposed parts of western Scotland. Elsewhere within the warning areas, gusts of 50-60 mph will be more typical. It will remain very blustery into Monday morning across the northern half of the UK after which time winds will ease off.”
“It is important that people stay up to date with the latest forecast and our warnings.”