UK weather: Met Office issues three rain warnings for today - all the areas at risk

Brits will brace for yet more miserable weather today with the Met Office issuing rain warnings for much of England, Wales and Northern Ireland today just days after the country was blighted by floods

The Met Office has issued three rain warnings for today with swathes of the UK set to be hammered by heavy showers.

In the Met Office's yellow rain warning for today, Brits have been warned they could face some travel disruption as well as a chance of flooding and power cuts. The first yellow warning is in place for the east coast of Northern Ireland while the second covers the North East, Yorkshire and Lincolnshire.

A third yellow rain warning covers much of southern England with East Anglia, the South East, parts of the Midlands, the South west as well as southern and central Wales. It comes as a band of rain looks set to sweep across the UK this morning, with another larger band set to bring more showers and even hail north of the border.

"There's a rain warning in force form midnight across Pennines, eastern counties of England.," said meteorologist Clare Nasir. "Here's that low pressure system to the north, the air is colder, even with a touch of frost in rural glens.

"As we head through Thursday morning and then a rain warning across southern counties of England and Wales, including the Midlands, through the first part of Friday from Thursday evening and, again, the risk of flooding here and some disruption before things settle down for the weekend. Yes, it's going to be colder, at least though drier skies - a few showers in the west and also some sunshine coming through"

But the picture will look increasingly miserable on Sunday into Monday with rain set to blight people in Northern Ireland, the western coast of Scotland, northern England, Wales, parts of the South West and South East. In the Met Office's long-range forecast from September 30 to October 9, heavy rain is due to fall at times in the far west before spreading to the rest of the UK. "The heaviest and most prolonged spells of rain are most likely to be in the west," it said.

It added: "Moving into early October, conditions are most likely to remain unsettled with occasional spells of rain and strong winds for all regions. There will also be some drier interludes as well and in these, some patchy fog and frost may form at night. The driest conditions are most likely across northern and western areas, with southern and eastern areas probably wettest. Overall, temperatures will be near or slightly below normal for the time of year."