Strong winds and heavy rain affect parts of the UK

After an exceptionally dry September, the UK has seen its first bout of widespread heavy rain and strong winds so far this autumn. An area of low pressure centred close to Iceland has driven a cold front eastwards across Britain, bringing unsettled weather, particularly in the west.

Highest rainfall totals

Some of the highest rainfall totals are shown below (between 10pm (5th October) to 10am (6th October):

SITE NAME	AREA	RAINFALL (mm)
CAMBORNE	CORNWALL	44.8
LLYNFRYNACH	POWYS	43.8
SOUTH UIST	WESTERN ISLES	41.4
CARDINHAM	CORNWALL	40.2
KATESBRIDGE	COUNTY DOWN	34.6

Strongest wind gusts

There have been some strong wind gusts in parts, particularly across exposed western areas. The highest gusts are below:

DATE/TIME	SITE NAME	AREA	WIND GUST (MPH)
06/10/2014 03:00	SOUTH UIST RANGE	WESTERN ISLES	84
06/10/2014 05:00	ALTNAHARRA NO 2	SUTHERLAND	78
06/10/2014 02:00	TIREE	ARGYLL	77
06/10/2014 05:00	MACHRIHANISH	ARGYLL	75
06/10/2014 01:00	MAGILLIGAN NO 2	LONDONDERRY	70

Earlier rainfall image across the UK:

Weather outlook

The rain will continue to move east across the UK during the rest of today with drier conditions following for a time, before showers follow in places overnight. Although winds will tend to ease for most areas, further gales are expected across northeast Scotland through tomorrow. During this unsettled weather we’d encourage everyone to keep up to date with the latest forecasts and national severe weather warnings.