UK weather forecast: Heavy rain, gales and flooding to cause transport disruption and risk of power cuts

'Very heavy and persistent rain' predicted for coming days

The UK is set to be lashed by “heavy and persistent” rain, gale-force winds and potential flooding.

The Met Office has forecast increasingly rainy weather for the next few days, with a downpour moving eastwards over England, Scotland and Wales on Thursday.

While Friday will see a bright morning, heavy rain and gale-force winds are forecast to reach parts of England and Scotland by the evening.

The weekend is likely to remain unsettled, with showers or longer spells of rain particularly in the west and south.

The Met Office has issued yellow warnings for rain and wind over the next few days, cautioning that homes and businesses could be flooded, transport delays are expected, and power cuts could occur.

“That rain warning is valid from 4pm this afternoon until 4am, with a risk of 20-40mm in some places," Alex Burkill, a meteorologist at the Met Office, told The Independent on Thursday.

“Some localised flooding is possible. But most places are going to be largely dry. Many central and eastern parts of the UK will stay largely dry, but see a little bit of showery rain later on in the night.

“Tonight won’t be as cold as last night, with lows of -1C or -2C, but elsewhere it will be relatively mild.”

He said Friday would be “fairly cloudy throughout the morning with some outbreaks of rain”, but the afternoon would see “some very heavy and persistent rain pushing in from the west”.

He added: “By 9pm tomorrow evening most of the UK will be under this heavy and persistent rain. We also have a warning for that, valid from 1pm to midnight, and that talks of 15-25mm quite widely and perhaps 40-60mm over the higher ground.

“That’s valid for much of south west England into south west Wales and also Northern Ireland, and a few places in Scotland too.

“Generally for the UK it is going to be a very wet end to the working week. There will also be strong winds with gusts of 50-60mph along the English channel coast.”

He warned the showers could have hail mixed in, with a risk of lightning and hail through the weekend.