London weather: Heavy rain and 50mph winds set to batter capital as Storm Nelson hits UK

The capital is facing more grim weather ahead of the Easter bank holiday

Heavy rain and strengthening winds hit London on Thursday lunchtime as Storm Nelson battered the UK - with the capital set for gusts of up to 50mph.

The Met Office extended its weather warnings to include parts of east England and most of the south-east as the storm, named by Spanish weather forecasters, hit just days before the Easter weekend.

Southern and eastern England were braced for winds as high as 70mph as the storm rolled in on Thursday.

It marks 24 hours of extreme weather conditions, after parts of Devon were left under a surprise blanket of heavy snow on Wednesday night.

London has avoided the weather warnings, but is to be lashed by heavy rain throughout Thursday afternoon which will make way for lighter showers in the evening, the Met Office predicts.

BBC Weather predicts high winds that hit capital around midday on Thursday were to reach top speeds of 50mph around 5pm, before dropping off around 9pm.

Following a drizzly Thursday, the wet conditions are also due to continue in London on Friday, with a mix of light and heavy showers.

The Met Office predicts some moderately high winds could remain until Friday afternoon.

Meanwhile a yellow wind warning that was in place across the south and south-west coast of England has been extended to cover east and south-east England, including parts of Kent and Essex.

It is in place until midnight on Thursday.

The Met Office warns: “Gusts of 50mph are expected quite widely, while some exposed coastal spots may experience gusts of 60 to 70 mph, with large waves also likely.

“Strong winds and large coastal waves may lead to hazardous conditions.”

The alert stretches from around Orford in Suffolk, around the south of England to Penzance. It covers most of Kent and Sussex, also taking in the Isle of Wight and some of the north Cornish coast.

A yellow rain warning is also in place across the eastern part of Northern Ireland, until 3am on Friday.

The Met Office warns: “Heavy rain may bring impacts to travel and infrastructure”.

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