If you're just joining us, here's a recap of the key details on Storm Babet's progress across the UK.

• Two people have died during the storm - a 56-year-old driver died on Thursday evening after their van was hit by a falling tree near Forfar in Angus, and a 57-year-old woman's body was recovered after she was swept away by a swollen river.
• A search is underway for a driver who was reportedly trapped in their car overnight by flood water.
• A rescue operation is taking place in the Angus town of Brechin after its flood defences were breached in the early hours of Friday morning, leaving hundreds of homes surrounded by flood water.
• 60 households in the town had to be rescued, with some still to take place in other areas of Angus including Marykirk and Edzell.
• A further red weather warning - meaning there is a risk to life - has been issued for Saturday, covering parts of Angus and Aberdeenshire.
• Amber warnings are in place over parts of Friday and Saturday for some parts of the Highlands, Scottish Borders and northern England including Yorkshire and Manchester as well as some of the Midlands, including Nottingham.
• Much of the UK is covered by a yellow weather warning, too.
• In other parts of the UK, schools have been closed and public transport has been disrupted with train services cancelled and roads flooded.

You can check here, external for full details of all the weather warnings issued across the UK.

A car was pushed 30 metres down a fast-flowing river in Northfield, Birmingham.

The motorist, a man thought to be in his 40s, had tried to drive through a ford in The Mill Walk at about 08:30 BST, West Midlands Fire Service said.

His car was quickly pushed downstream into the River Rea and got stuck, forcing the man to climb on to the roof of his vehicle.

He then used a tree branch to make his way to the embankment and was led to safety by fire crews an hour later.

The fire service said he had a "lucky escape", adding: "We repeat: Do not drive into flood water. It puts you, and our firefighters who respond, in very real danger."

Image source, Ryan Leith at Lerwick RNLI

The Lerwick lifeboat is back in port after the 18-hour rescue mission of a trawler in the North Sea in "atrocious" weather conditions.

The Westbank was around 60 miles to the east of Shetland yesterday when it lost engine power and began taking on water.

The lifeboat took the Danish vessel under tow and arrived in Lerwick at around 07:00.

The coxswain, Stephen Manson, said: ‘With the weather and all, it took a little bit longer than usual to get our tow line set up. We got attached to her at the third attempt, and we then started making our way back to Lerwick.’

Image source, Shannon Eustace/BBC

A major incident declared in Suffolk as people are asked not to travel unless "absolutely essential".

Jon Lacey, Suffolk’s chief fire officer, said the heavy rain had caused severe flooding in several areas and had made driving conditions dangerous.

He said: "We are therefore asking people to travel only where it is absolutely essential – for example collecting a child from school, accessing medical treatment or returning home from work.

"Reducing non-essential travel means more people stay safe and pressure on the emergency services is reduced."

He said they were monitoring the situation closely.

Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist

As it stands, all severe weather warnings are due to expire by midnight on Saturday.

By this point, the complex area of low pressure that included Storm Babet will have weakened and the heavy rain will have eased away from most areas.

While there could still be some showery rain on Sunday across northern Scotland and an isolated shower elsewhere, for most of us it’ll be a dry day with sunny spells.

It’s important to note however that while there may not be further heavy rain on Sunday, the rain that falls up to and including Saturday will still have impacts.

The water will have some lag in feeding through the river systems so flood warnings may still be in place on Sunday and into next week.

Angus Council held a briefing earlier this afternoon, here's what it said:

• Evacuations are happening in Monifieth, people are being taken to a rest centre in the Dundee area
• 60 households in Brechin were rescued in the early hours of this morning
• There are over 50 people in the Brechin rest centre, 17 at Montrose and nine at Forfar
• The military might be called into assist if the situation gets worse, but that would be a joint decision between Angus Council, the government and other agencies

Image source, Andrew Milligan/ PA Wire

Jakki Kennedy, who has lived in Brechin for 26 years, tells Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live she was evacuated as flood water started entering her house and she can't get near it at the moment.

"I've got two dogs and I'm happy that I've got them with me as well," she says.

Jakki says people should take heed of the second red weather warning as this is the "most horrific" flooding she has ever seen.

Network Rail has shared this footage of flooded tracks at Wood End station, in Warwickshire.

Image source, Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

Angus Council has described the deaths of a woman and a man in the flood-hit area as "tragic".

Angus and Aberdeenshire have been the two areas worst affected by Storm Babet in the UK, with dangerous levels of flooding.

Angus Council's environment director Graeme Dailly tells Radio Scotland's Lunchtime Live three rest centres have been open since yesterday.

Speaking from the busiest rest centre in Brechin, he says: "It's obviously a very challenging time for everyone involved."

He describes the death of two people in Angus due to Storm Babet as "tragic", and with a further red weather warning starting from midnight, he adds: "You should avoid going on the road unless it's absolutely essential."

Babet has also been causing disruption across Wales, with flooding forcing schools to shut and the weather causing travel problems.

Natural Resources Wales has issued multiple flood alerts, and a yellow weather warning is in place across much of the country.

Some schools are shut in mid and north Wales because of flooding nearby.

Train routes in north Wales have also shut and flooding has caused disruption on roads.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) says the "highest concern" areas continue to be the North Esk and South Esk river.

A severe flood warning in the North Esk region is around Marykirk, with another flood warning for Logie Mill and Craigo. The three severe warnings in the South Esk region are in Brechin, Kinnard/Bridge of Dun, and Finavon and Tannadice. Sepa also warns there is an increasing risk across the eastern borders of Scotland and in East Lothian.

Power has been restored to 24,000 homes in Aberdeenshire, Angus and Perthshire, Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) has said.

But it said around 4,000 properties were still without power.

SSEN said it had brought in additional teams and equipment to the main areas impacted by the storm. 

Andy Smith, Operations Director at SSEN Distribution, said: “Our teams are making good progress.

"We have reconnected the majority of our customers who lost their supplies, and that effort continues today.

"We have 10 times our usual operational capacity to respond to issues as they occur."

Image source, PA Media

The top of a lighthouse has been blown off by a combination of huge waves and strong winds.

The dome on the lighthouse at South Shields, Tyne and Wear, vanished into the sea earlier.

The Port of Tyne said it also suspected part of the south pier had been damaged, although it still had to be officially confirmed.

Image source, PA Media

James Cook
Scotland editor, reporting from Brechin

Brechin is used to flooding but no-one here can remember anything like this.

The town's defences were breached in the early hours, with floodwater roaring into residential areas, swamping scores of homes and leaving many people trapped, some of whom had ignored advice from Angus Council to evacuate.

Throughout the morning, firefighters and coastguard teams went door-to-door, checking homes and using boats to bring families to safety.

On River Street, where the South Esk overwhelmed flood defences, the level has receded somewhat but the road is still awash, with the top half of a bus stop sign poking out above the surface.

On the river itself, brown roaring water is still churning past, carrying debris including, at one point, an enormous tree, its leaves just turning brown and yellow at the start of autumn.

Storm Babet has been disruptive elsewhere too — and deadly.

A 56-year-old man was killed when a falling tree hit his van near Forfar. A 57-year-old woman was swept to her death in the Water of Lee in Glen Esk. And a helicopter has been used to search for a man reported to be trapped in his vehicle in Marykirk.

Forecasters say the threat is not yet over. The Met Office has issued a second red warning of heavy rainfall — meaning there is a continuing risk to life — for Angus and Aberdeenshire tomorrow.

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Andrew Milligan/PA Wire

People had to go through the trauma of being evacuated by boat in Brechin this morning, but the locals have rallied round to help each other.

Jill Scott is a councillor in the Angus town and she tells BBC Radio 5-Live it is a "tight-knit community":

"There’s been a phenomenal response with people bringing bags and bags of stuff.

"It’s incredible - people's kindness. Just lovely to see."

Graeme Ogston
Tayside and Central Reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Scotland's Deputy First Minister, Shona Robison, is among the householders affected by overnight flooding in Dundee.

She tells BBC Scotland News: "The neighbour's house across the road is flooded, I think there have been trees blocking the burn, so it's flowing in all directions.

"We've had a couple of floods here before, but nothing like this. The neighbours have been here for many more years than I have, and they say they've never seen anything like it.

"People are asking if anyone needs anything, but we're just going to have to wait for it to subside. It's very difficult to get out at the moment, but folk have been rallying round."

Kathryn Hamlett
BBC News

National Rail Enquiries has warned Storm Babet is likely to hit journeys, external in Scotland and England until Saturday.

Image source, GWR

Lines particularly hit are:

• Major disruption across parts of Scotland until the end of Saturday
• No trains around the Swindon area due to flooding at Royal Wootton Bassett
• Trains affected across the Midlands, north-west England and north-east England
• Disruption between Ely and Norwich
• Services including Gatwick Express, Great Northern, Southern and Thameslink may also be affected until the end of Friday

These pictures taken 24 hours apart by BBC Scotland's Kris Miller show the extent of the rising water at Balmossie in Dundee.

The Dighty Burn broke its banks overnight, causing flooding to nearby properties and submerging parked cars.

Matt Taylor
BBC Weather

It's not just been stormy here in the UK. Heavy rain and strong winds have hit other parts of Western Europe.

This was the entrance to Madrid's Banco de Espana metro station on Thursday.

It was Madrid's wettest day on record, since at least 1920. In total, 107mm of rain fell in 24 hours. Two of the four wettest days in the city have been in the last two months.

Climate scientists have been warning that, as the planet warms, more extreme rainfall events are likely.

Image source, Petete_13

Kathryn Hamlett
Live reporter

In England, Storm Babet has already caused disruption across the country:

• Parts of the M54 in Shropshire and M606 in West Yorkshire have been closed due to floodwater
• Schools have been shut in the West Midlands, in many cases due to flooding on nearby roads
• Train services between Bristol and London have been cancelled due to flooding in Swindon and Rotherham Central Station has been shut
• Homes have been flooded in parts of Suffolk