UK weather – as it happened: Widespread travel delays as Storm Diana pummels Britain with heavy winds and rain

Yellow weather warnings issued in England, Scotland and Wales, with high winds and heavy rain on the way

UK weather: The latest Met Office forecast

Weather warnings have been issued as Storm Diana brings 80mph winds and heavy rainfall to parts of the UK on Thursday.

The Met Office has warned as much as 35mm of rain could fall in central and southern Scotland in just six hours – an amount normally seen across several days during November.

Meanwhile, large parts of England and Wales will be hit by “widespread strong winds”, forecasters have warned.

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The country was hit by strong gusts on Wednesday - with Capel Curig in Snowdonia, Wales, recording gusts of 90mph, while Keswick, Cumbria, saw 47.4mm of rain.

The yellow warning for wind covers all parts of England except the south-east of England and East Anglia until 2pm.

A warning for rain covers central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, the Lothian Borders and Strathclyde in Scotland.

Additional reporting by PA

Key Points

• Met Office issues two yellow weather warnings as Storm Diana hits
• England and Wales battered by winds in excess of 70mph
• Passengers faced with delays on railways and at airports
• Some Dover to Calais ferries delayed by up to an hour due to conditions

[29 November 2018 11:25 · Tom Barnes]

Virgin Trains is not the only transport firm experiencing disruption on Thursday due to Storm Diana. 

The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder explains exactly which routes have been affected by the bad weather:

[29 November 2018 12:13 · Tom Barnes]

The Met Office is keeping a yellow weather warning for high winds in place until 5pm on Thursday evening.

The warning covers much of England, the entirety of Wales and small areas of Scotland. Forecasters are warning gusts of between 55 and 65mph can be expected inside the warning zone.

[29 November 2018 13:01 · Tom Barnes]

Here's how the Met Office is anticipating the weather will unfold over Thursday afternoon, as yellow warnings for high winds and rain remain in place:

[29 November 2018 13:22 · Tom Barnes]

In the North East, the Tyne and Wear Metro is being disrupted by a fallen tree in the village of Shiremoor, North Tyneside.

[29 November 2018 13:54 · Tom Barnes]

Rail services in the Midlands have already been hit by disruptions today due to Storm Diana, but in Birmingham the high winds are causing other problems.

At least one tree has been uprooted in the city, while the council is warning residents to check weather updates and take care while traveling.

[29 November 2018 14:17 · Tom Barnes]

Some pretty bleak-looking conditions in northwest England this morning: 

[29 November 2018 14:37 · Tom Barnes]

West Midlands Trains, the company that operates both London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway trains, says its services may still be subject to delays until the end of Thursday due to disruption caused by Storm Diana.

The firm said the 50mph speed limit, which had been imposed on the West Coast Main Line today due to high winds in several locations along the route, had left some trains “out of position” across its network.

Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway trains usually operate at speeds of up to 110mph on the route and the emergency speed limit was lifted by around 12.45pm.

However, the company said delays, alterations and cancellations to services would still be possible until the end of Thursday, asking passengers to allow extra time for their journeys and to check for any service updates.

[29 November 2018 15:05 · Tom Barnes]

Latest stats from the Met Office where the high winds have hit the hardest so far this afternoon.

Gust speeds have crept close to the 70mph mark in some areas, with a UK high of 67mph recorded at The Needles on the Isle of Wight. 

Meanwhile, monitoring sites in Huddersfield, Dover and Aberdeenshire have also been badly affected by the adverse weather.

[29 November 2018 15:27 · Tom Barnes]

Speaking of Dover, ferry crossings from the Kent port to the continent have looked particularly choppy today as Storm Diana whips up some waves on the English Channel.

The good news is ferries are still making the crossing. The bad news is both P&O and DFDS say several services have experienced delays of anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour due to adverse weather conditions. 

[29 November 2018 15:55 · Tom Barnes]

While most will have wanted to avoid the bad weather Storm Diana brought to the UK today, at least one person has been enjoying the conditions.

This surfer took advantage of the waves caused by high winds and took to the water in Tynemouth, in the North East.