More stormy weather on horizon

Batten down the hatches is the advice from experts

People living in south west England and western parts of Wales and Scotland are being warned to brace themselves for a repeat of October's storms.

Winds could reach up to 90mph in the west of the UK on Thursday and Friday.

Meteorologists have issued a severe weather warning and expect gales to batter Scotland and Northern Ireland on Friday after hitting the West Country and Wales on Thursday.

People should be tying things down which could easily work loose in strong winds - if you can, stay indoors

Sean Clarke
Met Office

Heavy rainfall is expected in many other parts of the UK and the Environment Agency has released a severe flood warning for the River Wye in Herefordshire.

Extra flood warnings have been issued elsewhere in the UK, with 12 additions between the Welsh border and Midlands. There are now 38 flood warnings in force on 19 rivers.

As well as a possible repeat of October's massive storms, forecasters fear that severe weather could cause more flooding.

Sean Clarke, of the Met Office, said the UK was suffering from the absence of a "blocking high", an area of high pressure that acted like a boulder in a stream by forcing weather patterns to flow around it.

He warned that an approaching area of low pressure, which has formed off the northern Spanish and Portuguese coast, will bring severe weather and high winds.

Storms could cause flooding

He said: "Although we have been in a relatively calm period, the weather has still been in a mobile state, coming in off the Atlantic.

"The one forming in the Bay of Biscay is moving northwards and is likely to give very strong winds with damage gusts, particularly for those in the west, south west England, Wales and Scotland.

"In exposed areas, on hills, 90mph is quite possible.

"This weekend's storm will be on a similar scale to the last one on October 30."

But he said winds in the rest of the UK could reach up to 70mph, and he advised people in the worst-affected areas to be vigilant.

Rain fears persist

"People should be tying things down which could easily work loose in strong winds - if you can, stay indoors."

He said ferry crossings in the Irish Sea could be affected and warned that heavy rain could cause problems where rivers were already the subject of flood warnings.

"Those rivers that are critical - this is going to tip them over almost certainly."

As well as six rivers in Wales, flood warnings are in force in East Anglia, southern, south western, north western and north eastern England.

The Thames area is the only region without flood warnings.