UK weather warnings issued by Met Office as snow, wind and rain set to batter Britain

Forecasters warn of delays to travel, and flooding and large waves in some places

Weather warnings have been issued as snow, wind and rain are set to batter most of the UK.

The Met Office has four weather warnings in place for Saturday as a spell of wet, cold and blustery weather is expected to sweep across the country.

A warning for wind was in place until 3pm on Friday as gusts of up to 65mph hit the east midlands, the northeast and Yorkshire and Humber.

A separate alert for strong gales is also in place for much of the country until Saturday night, and coastal communities are being warned of spray and large waves.

A weather warning for snow is in place in northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland until 9pm on Saturday, where as much as 20cm could fall.

Forecasters have also warned heavy, persistent rain will fall for most of Saturday in northern England and Wales, potentially causing flooding.

There has been some speculation the spell of bad weather could be named Storm Hannah, but the Met Office is yet to do so.

Temperatures are expected to be cold for most places, particularly at night, over the weekend before warming up into the start of next week.

Met Office spokeswoman Nicola Maxey told The Independent: “There will be a big difference in temperatures over the weekend; if you look at Glasgow, temperatures will be about 4-5C, but in London you are probably going to see quite warm temperatures of 13-15C.

“Temperatures will be colder where there is lying snow, but it will melt quite quickly.

“Saturday night into Sunday a lot of places will hover around freezing and just below, and Sunday night and Monday night will be cold as well.

“Saturday night in London will be about 2-3C but further north in Newcastle temperatures will hover around freezing with isolated spots getting down to -2C.”

Ms Maxey explained temperatures could get even lower into the minuses in more exposed rural areas.

She added: “As we go into the start of next week temperatures will start warming up to slightly above average.

“Temperatures will start picking up by the middle of next week, it will certainly be warmer and could be warm for the time of year.”