Britain braced for battering

Parts of the UK will be battered by heavy rain and high winds in the next 24 hours, forecasters have warned.

Gusts could hit 80mph in some exposed hill and coastal areas of the country and 60-70mph elsewhere, while high rainfall will put some places at renewed risk of flooding.

The storms will be followed next week by plunging temperatures, snow and widespread frosts, forecasters said.

MeteoGroup forecaster Michael Dukes said: "There's wet and windy weather sweeping in later on Wednesday with winds picking up towards morning. The rain is going to be heavy so there could be further flood problems."

He said the heaviest rain would be in the west of the country, with England, Wales and Northern Ireland all at risk of high winds. Parts of Scotland will see snow.

The Met Office has released severe weather warnings for the country, advising that damaging gusts of wind could cause travel disruption. There may be as much as 25cm (9.8in) of snow over high ground in Scotland, with central parts also receiving a few centimetres, the Met Office said.

Kent Police warned people they could face disruption from high winds which may blow down trees, causing traffic delays and possible power cuts. Channel sea crossings, the M25 Dartford bridge and the M2 and M20 could all be affected by the stormy weather, police said.

But the stormy weather should die away by Thursday night and be replaced by much colder weather over the weekend. Mr Dukes said: "This is the last of the storms. The weather pattern is going to change, with storms dying down on Thursday night.

"It's a bit unsettled and blustery for a few days before Sunday morning when winds switch away from the Atlantic, which has been bringing us bad weather, to the Arctic.

"Come Sunday, we will all be noticing a big drop in temperatures, and there will be snow showers in the North and East and even a few flurries in London," he said. Temperatures will drop from their current unseasonable levels of around 14C (57F) to as low as 3C (37F) in the capital on Monday, with the wind chill factor making it feel even colder.