Weather warnings issued as heavy rain and strong gusts forecast

Heavy rain and strong winds could bring flooding, travel disruption and power outages to parts of England and Scotland over the weekend.

The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for the east and south of England and the north east of Scotland, over Aberdeenshire, Orkney and Shetland.

Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast for some coastal areas on Saturday, affecting East Anglia, Essex, Kent, and the south coast over the Isle of Wight and as far west as Lyme Regis, from 1pm until 10pm.

Gusts are predicted to reach 52mph on the Isle of Wight, 43mph in Norwich and 56mph in Ramsgate.

The Met Office is warning of some delays to road, rail, air and ferry services, delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges, power outages, and high waves and spray in coastal areas.

Meanwhile, heavy downpours are forecast over Orkney and Shetland from 4pm Saturday until 6am on Sunday, bringing some localised flooding and disruption to transport services.

Strong winds are expected over north Aberdeenshire and up to Orkney and Shetland from midnight on Saturday to 3pm on Sunday.

Gusts could reach 42mph in Aberdeen and 60mph in the Shetland Islands.

The Met Office is warning some flooding to businesses and homes is “likely”, along with transport delays and possible short-term loss of power and other services.

It is also likely that some exposed routes, sea fronts and coastal communities will be affected by spray and large waves.