Weather warnings have been issued as Storm Diana brings 80mph winds and heavy rainfall to parts of the UK on Thursday.
The Met Office has warned as much as 35mm of rain could fall in central and southern Scotland in just six hours – an amount normally seen across several days during November.
Meanwhile, large parts of England and Wales will be hit by “widespread strong winds”, forecasters have warned.
Hello and welcome to live updates from The Independent on all today's weather news as Storm Diana hits the UK.
The Met Office has issued two weather warnings for Thursday - one for heavy rain covering central and southern Scotland and one for high winds covering much of England and Wales.
What is a yellow weather warning?
The Met Office issues several different kinds of warning in the event that potentially hazardous or severe weather is going to hit the UK.
These warnings come in three, colour-coded categories – yellow, amber and red.
Yellow is the least serious type of warning. However, the Met Office says such conditions are still likely to cause disruption to travel and public transport.
It also warns some may experience short-term power cuts or loss of other services, while there is also a small possibility the weather could cause injury.
The yellow warning for wind covers all parts of England and Wales except for the southeast and East Anglia and will remain in place until at least 2pm.
Inland gusts of 50 mph are likely with gusts of around 65 mph in exposed locations around Wales and western England, the Met Office said.
“There remains a very small chance that this system will intensify as it moves northeastwards bringing even stronger winds to southwest England, Wales and on into northern England and southeast Scotland,” a spokesman added.
“If this occurs, gusts of 70-80 mph could be seen, mainly in exposed locations.”
Meanwhile, anyone in Scotland hoping they will be able to avoid the worst of the weather will be sorely disappointed – a deluge of rain is expected to hit large areas today.
The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for rain covers central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, the Lothian Borders and Strathclyde in Scotland.
“Rain will become persistent and heavy again on Thursday morning and into the early afternoon, before clearing,” a forecaster said.
“Accumulations of 15-25mm are likely to fall in around 6 hours, with up to 35mm on higher ground.”
Winds of up to 72mph have already been seen in southwest England today according to the Met Office, as Storm Diana begins to sweep across the UK.
Well, this ferry crossing from Holyhead to Dublin yesterday in the height of Storm Diana didn't look terrifying at all...
Hundreds of homes are thought to currently be without power in southwestern England as Storm Diana sweeps through the region.
Western Power Distribution has reported widespread power cuts across its network, including in Somerset, where 254 properties are without power in Langport and 133 homes have seen outages in Huntspill.
“We are currently experiencing gusting winds moving across the south west - it is expected to last for the next couple of hours and then easing,” the company said in a statement.
“Operational staff are restoring customers affected as quickly as possible.”
The Met Office says heavy rains in southern and central Scotland today could cause flooding to homes and businesses. Forecasters are also warning drivers to expect surface water on roads.
Network Rail has placed a 50mph emergency speed limit on trains between London and Crewe due to high winds caused by Storm Diana.
Virgin Trains, which operates the route, said delays had been caused on the West Coast Mainline on Thursday morning after roofing panels flew off a building and onto the track in Bedfordshire.
The rail firm said speed restrictions would remain in place until at least this afternoon and those hit by disruptions would have the option to travel on later services today or to postpone their journeys until Friday.
In a statement, Network Rail said: “We have put in place speed restrictions as a safety precaution while Storm Diana passes through.
“Strong winds increase the risk of trees falling on the railway. This is why we manage trackside vegetation continually throughout the year.”
Virgin Trains is not the only transport firm experiencing disruption on Thursday due to Storm Diana.
The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder explains exactly which routes have been affected by the bad weather:
The Met Office is keeping a yellow weather warning for high winds in place until 5pm on Thursday evening.
The warning covers much of England, the entirety of Wales and small areas of Scotland. Forecasters are warning gusts of between 55 and 65mph can be expected inside the warning zone.
Here's how the Met Office is anticipating the weather will unfold over Thursday afternoon, as yellow warnings for high winds and rain remain in place:
In the North East, the Tyne and Wear Metro is being disrupted by a fallen tree in the village of Shiremoor, North Tyneside.
Rail services in the Midlands have already been hit by disruptions today due to Storm Diana, but in Birmingham the high winds are causing other problems.
At least one tree has been uprooted in the city, while the council is warning residents to check weather updates and take care while traveling.
Some pretty bleak-looking conditions in northwest England this morning:
West Midlands Trains, the company that operates both London Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway trains, says its services may still be subject to delays until the end of Thursday due to disruption caused by Storm Diana.
The firm said the 50mph speed limit, which had been imposed on the West Coast Main Line today due to high winds in several locations along the route, had left some trains “out of position” across its network.
Northwestern Railway and West Midlands Railway trains usually operate at speeds of up to 110mph on the route and the emergency speed limit was lifted by around 12.45pm.
However, the company said delays, alterations and cancellations to services would still be possible until the end of Thursday, asking passengers to allow extra time for their journeys and to check for any service updates.
Latest stats from the Met Office where the high winds have hit the hardest so far this afternoon.
Gust speeds have crept close to the 70mph mark in some areas, with a UK high of 67mph recorded at The Needles on the Isle of Wight.
Meanwhile, monitoring sites in Huddersfield, Dover and Aberdeenshire have also been badly affected by the adverse weather.
Speaking of Dover, ferry crossings from the Kent port to the continent have looked particularly choppy today as Storm Diana whips up some waves on the English Channel.
The good news is ferries are still making the crossing. The bad news is both P&O and DFDS say several services have experienced delays of anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour due to adverse weather conditions.
Storm Diana is forecast to be dragged into the North Sea off the coast of Scotland later this evening, as demonstrated by this lovely Met Office graphic here:
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The country was hit by strong gusts on Wednesday - with Capel Curig in Snowdonia, Wales, recording gusts of 90mph, while Keswick, Cumbria, saw 47.4mm of rain.
The yellow warning for wind covers all parts of England except the south-east of England and East Anglia until 2pm.
A warning for rain covers central, Tayside and Fife, Grampian, the Lothian Borders and Strathclyde in Scotland.
Additional reporting by PA
