UK weather: 70mph winds and heavy rain to batter Britain as four flood warnings are issued

The high spring tides and strong winds have caused flood warnings to be issued

Waves and high winds batter the shore (Rex Features)

Britain is set to be battered by winds of up to 70mph and heavy rain as a bright and frosty beginning to the weekend gives way to rbhing warnings of flooding across the country.

Most of England and Wales will see a bright but fresh morning on Saturday, especially in London and the South East, but it will unfortunately turn into showers later this afternoon across the whole country, bringing . The maximum temperature will be 10 degrees today. In other parts of the UK, showers will spread east and will be heavy in some places, with snow in the Scottish mountains.

The yellow warning of severe weather has been issued over most parts of England and Wales. The warning has been issued by the Met Office from 9am today and will last to at least 6pm on Sunday evening at least.

This warning includes rain and wind, but there is no snow, ice or fog included. More specifically, this includes East Midlands, East of England, London and South East England, North East England, North West England, South West England, Wales and West Midland, Yorkshire and Humber.

The yellow warning also covers rain, which is expected to be most severe in the north of England where the ground is already heavily saturated. This will also carry on to Monday and Tuesday.

However, as the rain moves north and hits high ground, it will turn to snow in the Scottish mountains, where around 40 cm of snow is expected to settle. The Met Office has suggested this could cause problems on Monday.

A spokesperson from the Met Office said: “High winds are expected to be around 40-50mph inland and may reach 60 mph in western coastal areas and even 70 mph on Sunday in those areas. Elsewhere on Sunday, gusts are expected to reach 60mph across the country. This will bring in more blustery showers, and perhaps longer spells of rain.”

This is expected to cause minor delays in travel, as big waves can affect ferry crossings and coastal areas. The Met Office has advised people travelling to check the weather before and to keep an eye on weather updates, as Sunday is expected to worsen.

The Environment Agency has issued four flood warnings in England. These have been issued after the high spring tides are meeting with the high winds, which also causes flood alerts in other areas, which is common at this time of year and under the weather circumstances.

The warnings have been issued along the Lancashire coastline, the Severn Estuary at Severn Beachm along with Porlock Weir, Clevedon and Dunster beach all in Somerset.

A spokesperson from the Environment Agency said: “A combination of high tides and strong winds will lead to large waves for parts of the North and East Somerset, Bristol, and South Gloucestershire coastline this weekend.

"There is the potential for isolated instances of spray and waves overtopping for parts of the coast of England. We advise people to take special care near coastal paths and promenades; and to avoid the temptation to go wave watching and not to drive through flood water.

“The Met Office is also forecasting some heavy showers over the weekend, bringing a low risk of localised flooding to parts of Yorkshire. These unsettled conditions are expected to continue into next week, increasing river levels in the Midlands and the North West. The Environment Agency is monitoring the situation closely and we will issue flood warnings to affected communities if required.

“People should check their flood risk and keep up to date with the latest situation or follow @EnvAgency and #floodaware on Twitter for the latest flood updates.”

Tonight, temperatures will be about six degrees Celsius, and the windy conditions should help prevent any frost forming in the morning.

November is still the second mildest on record, with temperatures on average 2.2 degrees Celsius warmer than the national average. Experts say that this month in England is on course to equal the mildest November in 1994.