A new yellow weather warning for heavy rain has been issued by the Met Office tonight (Monday). It comes after meteorologists earlier named Storm Claudio which is set to cross the UK this week.
Tonight, the Met Office said there is a possibility of localised flooding and disruption. Motorists have been warned to take care on roads due to spray and flooding on routes.
Monday (October 31) night's yellow warning takes in Northern Ireland and much of England and Wales, although east and west coastal areas of both countries look to escape the worst for now.
The Met Office said: "A spell of heavy rain is expected overnight which may lead to some localised disruption. Bus and train services probably affected with journey times taking longer
"Spray and flooding on roads probably making journey times longer. Some interruption to power supplies and other services likely.
"Flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely."
Tonight's warning is in place from 8pm until 8am tomorrow morning (Tuesday). From midnight tonight until 8am tomorrow, there is a yellow wind warning in place across the South East coast of England, through Hampshire and Sussex.
Storm Claudio is set to bring the gusty weather overnight, with winds in excess of 70 miles per hour possible in some coastal areas of England. The storm's move eastwards on Tuesday is expected to leave in its wake a showery day for much of the UK, with Wales and areas in southern and central England predicted to see the most frequent rainfall, the Met Office added.
Neil Armstrong, chief meteorologist, said: “The biggest impacts from Storm Claudio are expected in northern France, which is why is has been named as a system by Météo-France. What it means for us in the UK is for some high winds to be possible along much of the southern coast of England.
“Some isolated and especially exposed coastal areas could see gusts in excess of 70mph, while much of the warning area will see gusts of between 50 and 60mph.”
Conditions are unlikely to improve by midweek as low pressure moving in from the west is forecast to bring wet and windy weather. The Met Office said winds are likely to be strongest along Irish Sea coastal areas, including western Wales, north west England and south west Scotland, as well as the east coast of Northern Ireland.
It has issued a yellow weather warning for wind on Wednesday.
Deputy chief meteorologist Steven Keates said: “Within the warning area, gusts are expected of between 55 and 65mph. This is associated with low pressure moving towards the north west of the UK, which is bringing with it some heavy rain on Wednesday, especially across parts of south west Scotland, Cumbria and western Wales, although much of the UK will see some rain through the day.
“In addition to high winds in the warning area, many parts of the UK will experience strong and gusty winds, at least for a time, during Wednesday.”
The windy weather comes after the UK enjoyed above-average temperatures as October came to an end, with the mercury reaching the low 20s in some parts resulting in balmy conditions for this time of year.
