Met Office issues more yellow weather warnings as 48 hours of rain and wind to hit UK

The Met Office has issued several yellow weather warnings across the UK for wind and rain as the country is set to face 48 hours of torrential conditions.

The warnings are in effect across the South of England, Wales, the North East of England, the North West of England and parts of Scotland.

One alert that lasts until 3pm today, spans the whole of South of England and South Wales.

Another warning, covering parts of Wales will be in force from 11pm tonight.

Gusts of over 80mph have been recorded with reports of wind damage which may cause disruption to travel.

Gusts of wind up to 80mph have been recorded as the UK gets battered with rain and wind (Alex Lentati/LNP)

It comes as Meteorologist Tom Morgan said the Met Office could not confirm any tornadoes but would not rule them out.

He said: "We've got a deep Atlantic area of low pressure that's bringing a very heavy band of rain and squalling winds across the whole of the country, but particularly in the south of England.

"We've seen some very strong gusts of wind on the south coast... and a few reports of damage from the winds.

A taxi driver escaped serious injury as his vehicle hit floodwater in Somerset and rolled onto its roof. (JASON BRYANT/APEX)

"It's not out of the question that there will have been some localised, brief funnel clouds or tornadoes.

"In the last couple of days, we have seen some reports and seen some photos of funnel clouds and water spouts, which are similar to tornadoes."

He added that wind speeds of 87mph were recorded at an exposed location on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, and there were gusts of 60mph across Hampshire, Dorset, Wiltshire and Sussex.

A man sits on a partially submerged bench on the shore of Ullswater lake in Glenridding, Cumbria, this morning (Andrew McCaren/LNP)

Northamptonshire Police said they had received a high number of calls relating to the weather conditions and that trees had fallen on scores of roads in the county.

South Western Railway apologised to customers after trees blocked part of the network and said there may be cancellations, delays and alterations to services.

The torrential weather comes as three people have died and another person is fighting for their life after a group of paddleboarders were swept away in flash floods.

Nine paddleboarders got into difficulty in the River Cleddau near Haverfordwest, Pembrokeshire, Wales, on Saturday, police believe.

A further five people rescued from the River Cleddau were not injured, police said.