UK weather: Storm Alex brings power cuts, flood warnings and winds of up to 65mph

Met Office puts weather warnings in place from Friday to Sunday

Storm Alex and another low-pressure system will batter parts of the UK with strong winds and heavy showers over the next three days, bringing the possibility of localised flooding, power outages and travel disruptions.

Forecasters have said that parts of the south coast of England could see winds of up to 65mph and experience flooding by the end of Sunday.

The storm, which was named by Meteo France, has already caused widespread power cuts in London and along the south coast, with wind speeds reaching 61mph at Berry Head in Devon on Friday morning. 

Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks registered power outages in 20 areas including Portsmouth and towns near Reading, while Western Power Distribution reported incidents in Dorset, Devon and Cornwall. 

As a result of Storm Alex, the Met Office has issued weather warnings for wind and rain on Friday for a large band stretching along the south coast from Cornwall to Kent and also for a small area north of Cardiff.

These alerts are followed by further rain warnings for much of the UK on Saturday and Sunday, after another band of wet weather arrives from the east.

Steve Ramsdale, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said the forecast was a “miserable end to the working week”.

"As the strong winds and rain associated with Storm Alex clear away from Britain later on Friday, another low-pressure system moves towards the UK from the east bringing further very heavy rain and strong winds to many over the weekend,” he added.

Parts of southwest England, Wales and eastern Scotland could experience more than 100mm of rainfall over the next few days, leading to the chance of flooding and also landslides.

The rain will also make driving conditions difficult, with the possibility there will be cancellations and delays for bus and train services.

The Environment Agency, which has put out two flood warnings on Friday for parts of the Dorset coast, warned the public about the dangers presented by the weather.

Heavy rain could cause surface water flooding and some river flooding in southeast England on Friday, widening to other parts of England over the weekend, according to the Environment Agency.

"We urge people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water, it is often deeper than it looks and just 30cm of flowing water is enough to float your car,” it added.