UK weather forecast: Gale force winds and heavy rains set to pummel country

Warnings in place across Scotland, Wales and England as high speed winds and downpours scheduled

The Met Office has issued weather warnings across Scotland, England and Wales as blustery winds and heavy rains look likely to spread across the UK at the weekend.

Much of Friday is expected to be relatively clear and dry, but cloud, winds and rains are expected to settle in the north of Britain overnight.

And on Saturday gales and heavy, persistent showers are forecast to spread across the country, forced across the North East by a weather system coming in from the Atlantic.

Heavy rainfall is likely to deluge much of the north and patches of the south of Scotland, the Met Office said.

Gale force winds are expected to cause disruption from Edinburgh to Middlesbrough, as well as areas of northern Wales including Bangor, gusts of up to 50mph forecast in the Dumfries region.

The south is expected to escape much of the bad weather, despite bursts of blustery winds and the occasional shower towards Saturday evening.

And despite a wet and windy forecast across the day, temperatures are expected to settle at around nine or 10 degrees across the UK.

The weather is likely to calm down across much of the country on Sunday, bringing a brighter and colder end to the weekend with occasional wintry showers in the northwest.

“The rain really builds up as we head into Saturday," the Met Office’s Alex Deakin said, adding the heavy rainfall would be “persisting over the mountains of western Scotland.

He added: “There will be some heavy rains too for Northern Ireland, parts of North West England, with North and West Wales seeing a few showers - but further south and further east most of the day will be dry and at times we may even see some sunshine.

“It will be windy however – with winds coming up from the south west bringing mild air, so temperatures widely higher than Friday’s – with values crossing into double digits, maybe into the teens in some regions.

“But those winds will be gusty ... parts of north wales, northeast England and southeast Scotland could get some very strong gusts of wind”.