UK weather: Country to be blasted with strong winds and torrential rain over weekend

People heading to fireworks displays advised to brace themselves for unfavourable conditions

Britain is set to be blasted with strong winds and torrential downpours as the remnants of ex-hurricane Oscar threatened a wet and windy weekend.

Scotland and north-west England will bear the brunt of the heavy rain, with the Met Office warning that flooded roads could lead to some travel disruption.

Those heading to fireworks displays on Saturday evening have been advised to brace themselves for strong winds as a weather system moves in from the Atlantic.

Heavy rain will be seen in central parts of Scotland and northern parts of England, while the far south-east of England will stay dry and clear – although it will be windy for fireworks, meteorologist Sarah Kent said.

“Southern and eastern parts are going to have the best of it. It has been a chilly start, but they should stay dry with some decent sunny spells through the day, with maximum temperatures in the south-east," she added.

“However, it will be noticeably windy, and the further north-west we go – into Scotland and north-western England and Wales – the windier and cloudier it gets, and then we run into the rain as well.

“Some people will struggle to light explosive objects and bonfires in wet weather, and with the strong winds people should use a lot of common sense and think about where their fireworks are going to go once they’re in the air.”

A yellow weather warning for rain covers central and western parts of Scotland and the North West of England throughout Saturday.

These areas are expected to see between 1.2in and 2in (30mm-50mm) of rain, with as much as 3.1in (80mm) forecast on high ground.

Ms Kent said Sunday would see the cloudy zone sink southwards and lie through central and south-western parts of England, while further north and western areas would get bright spells with a scattering of showers.

Temperatures are set to remain milder than they have been all week, reaching between 12C (53.6F) and 14C (57.2F), but the windy and wet weather is likely to make it feel cooler.

Looking ahead to next week, the forecast improves although it will remain unsettled with plenty of wet and windy weather.

The Met Office said that temperatures would stay warmer throughout next week, although overnight frosts and patches of mist and fog are possible, especially in the northern parts of the UK.