A yellow warning for rain is in place across northern and western areas from 1 pm to midnight tonight with the rain expected to be heavy and persistent across parts of Scotland in particular.

Strong winds are also expected this afternoon and tonight through the Irish Sea and to the north and west of Scotland.

The unsettled weather continues for the start of next week with windy and showery conditions, particularly in the north, on Monday and some of the showers could be heavy. Tuesday starts with showers, heavy at times, in for Northern Ireland and north west Scotland which spread eastwards through the day

Deputy Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office, Mark Sidaway said: “A deep area of low pressure is expected to approach southwest Ireland early on Wednesday, and track across northern parts of the UK before clearing early Thursday.

“There is some uncertainty on the precise track and strength of this weather system, however the most likely outcome at present is for a wide swathe of 50 to 60 mph gusts affecting inland areas. A  yellow warning for wind has been issued for much of the country from 10am on Wednesday to 7am on Thursday. Some Irish Sea coasts could see gusts of 65 to 75 mph, with a small chance of 80 mph gusts on the most exposed coasts and headlands.”

The weather is expected to stay changeable as we head into next weekend.

Keep track of current weather warnings on the weather warning page, when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather in your area.

You can check the latest forecast on our website, by following us on Twitter and Facebook, as well as on our mobile app which is available for iPhone from the App store and for Android from the Google Play store.