UK weather forecast: 71 flood WARNINGS in place as Britain prepares to be HAMMERED by RAIN

Britons will wake up to a lively start, as blistering winds wreak havoc up and down the country. Vicious downpours and gales will hurtle across the Atlantic and hammer the UK. Severe gales of up to 60 mph will hit northern England, moving down the country as the day progresses, battering the south-west.

Meteorologist, Aidan McGivern, said: “There will be very strong winds of 50-60mph.

“The showers will be heavy and prolonged in places and the winds particularly gusty.

“The gales will strengthen further through Saturday night, especially around coasts of south Wales and the south-west of England where we could have gales of more than 60mph.

“Showers will also continue throughout Saturday night and into Sunday.”

The Met Office has warned commuters to expect travel delays as a result of the severe winds.

High-sided vehicles travelling on exposed routes and bridges have been advised to travel with care.

Mark Wilson, Met Office forecaster, said: “It is going to be showery particularly in northern areas on Saturday morning.

“Then another band of rain will come in from the west and move eastwards later in the day.

“The showers will be pretty hefty, with hail and thunder in some places.

“We are looking in some places, particularly in northern England and northern Wales, between 5mm and 10mm in one hour.

“That is pretty heavy.”

In December, the UK on average receives 120mm of rain, and roughly 3.8mm each day.

According to bookmaker Coral, it is odds-on at 4-5 that this month will end as the wettest December on record.

This is due to the torrential downpours which are set to fall over the next couple of days.

The firm is offering evens that the wind speed reaches as high as 100mph in mainland UK by the end of the weekend.

Coral spokesman John Hill said: “We are set for a very damp weekend and with downpours forecast across the country, it is now odds-on that this December will end as the wettest on record in the UK.”

Temperatures will struggle to exceed 13C but will plummet in the following 24 hours.

Forecasters have warned the mercury will drop to around 5C in parts on Sunday.