Wind and rain expected to bring weekend travel disruption

Yellow weather warnings for wind and rain are in place for large parts of the UK on Friday and Saturday, likely causing weekend travel disruption.

Severe weather is expected in western and central England, as well as Wales, south-west Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to the Met Office.

Almost 30 flood warnings, where flooding is expected, are also in place.

Wet and windy weather is also expected into the start of next week.

About 150 flood alerts, where flooding is considered possible, are also in force.

Strong winds are expected across Wales and much of central England between 09:00 GMT and 23:45 on Saturday, with the Met Office warning that transport services could be disrupted.

A yellow weather warning for heavy rain is also in place for parts of south-west England on Saturday morning.

Communities in south-west Scotland, from Dumfries to beyond the Isle of Arran and as far east as Jedburgh, are expected to receive heavy rain from Friday evening until around 21:00 on Saturday.

There is a risk of flooding, as well as travel and power disruption, the Met Office said.

Rain and wind warnings are also in place across much of Northern Ireland on Saturday, possibly bringing flooding and travel disruption.

A series of flood warnings are in place around the East Midlands due to recent rainfall and the weekend's melting snow.

The weekend rains follow a bout of cold and wintry weather in recent days.

BBC Weather presenter Elizabeth Rizzini said temperatures this weekend are likely to be above the seasonal average "in sharp contrast to where we were just a week ago".

It is likely to be "very wet and windy" at times, particularly in the north and the west.

Rain is a concern given parts of Devon and Cornwall received around half their monthly average rainfall over Wednesday and Thursday, she said.

And she warned of further heavy downpours on Sunday, along with gusts of 40-50mph along southern and western coasts in the morning and up to 65-70mph on exposed coasts of north-west England, north-west Wales and Northern Ireland in the afternoon.

"Expect delays to transport and dangerous coastal conditions with large waves," she said, adding that there is little respite in the forecast for the start of the week with "more wet and windy weather" likely.

"But we are expecting something a little more settled, and colder once more as high pressure builds from Wednesday onwards," she said.

Roads were flooded in Norfolk on Thursday