UK weather: Met Office warns of 70mph winds & ‘cold front’ to bring snow as heavy rain & flooding causes travel chaos

THE Met Office has warned of 70mph winds and a "cold front" bringing snow - as heavy rain and flooding causes travel chaos.

A band of heavy rain will push into the south and east today, forecasters said.

Squalls could whip up blustery showers and gales of up to 70mph across the UK.

Yellow wind and rain warnings will be in force for much of southern England, East Anglia, the Midlands, Lincolnshire and south Wales.

Heavy rain could flood homes, roads and train tracks throughout the warning zone.

A rain warning is in place for south west England, south Wales and Herefordshire from until 2pm.

Another rain warning is in force for London, the Home Counties, the Midlands and the east coast up to Hull until 6pm.

And a yellow wind warning will cover London, the south east, East Anglia and the south west from 8am until 6pm.

Delays have already been reported on the M4, M60 and M62 this morning.

There could also be power cuts, transport delays, flying debris and life-threatening waves.

There is a chance of snow tonight in Wales, northwest England and parts of Scotland.

Met Office expert Paul Gundersen said: "It has been a wet February so far.

"Further rain is on the way on Thursday accompanied by some gusty winds.

"The warning areas cover much of southern, central and eastern England."

He added: "There’s a small chance that wind gusts could reach 60-70mph, mostly likely on exposed coasts.

"More widely we're likely to see a shorter spell of heavy, squally rain with hail and thunder in a few places and gusts to around 50mph.

"Most places within the warning areas are likely to see 10-15mm of rain, with a chance of 30-40mm in a few places.

"This is falling on saturated ground, which elevates the chances of flooding and disruption."

Tomorrow will be a breezy day for many, with showers spritzing many areas.

The mercury will hover around the annual average after nippy spells earlier this month.

Saturday should be somewhat drier before rain and wind return to the south on Sunday.