Britons are bracing themselves for severe weather conditions set to lash parts of the country with rain and 100mph winds today.
The Met Office has issued a yellow wind warning across much of England and Scotland, with strong gusts expected and likely to cause delays for rush-hour commuters.
The UK is likely to avoid Storm Brendan despite weather warnings for wind remaining in place for parts of the country, the Met Office has said.
The South West of England and Wales were hit with gales of up to 70mph over the weekend after Storm Atiyah first hit Ireland on Sunday.
Alex Burkill, Met Office Meteorologist said Tuesday was going to be a ‘wet and windy’ day for most of the UK but they were not expecting a second storm.
Strong winds have already brought down this tree in Taunton, Somerset. The council tweeted a picture of the scene
The Met Office has issued a yellow wind warning across much of England and Scotland, with very strong gusts expected – potentially causing transport delays
It was previously thought that Tuesday would bring Storm Brendan to the shores of the UK but the Met Office said there will not be enough of an impact from Tuesday’s winds to warrant a storm name.
Mr Burkill said: ‘Many parts of the UK, particularly in the North West, will get off to a wet and windy start.’
Two weather warnings are in place for wind across the north of England and southern Scotland, as well as rain across the west of Scotland.
Mr Burkill continued: ‘In that warning, we talk about rain of between 20mm and 40 mm, and perhaps up to 60 mm across the western part of Scotland.
‘The greatest impacts from the winds look to be from southern Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern Wales and northern England, so quite a big patch.
‘We can see gusts of 50 to 60 miles per hour up to 70 in parts.
‘Despite the wind and rain, it is going to be a remarkably mild day. There will be highs of 13C (55.4F) to 14C (57.2F) and that is quite a few degrees above average.’
Mr Burkill added that the worst of the rain will clear over the next two days, but most places will see ‘quite a drop’ in temperature between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Temperatures will sink to 9C (48.2F) on Wednesday, a drop of about 4C (7.2F) from today’s expected temperature.
Commuters today have been warned of strong winds (left) on a day when temperatures will struggle to get to double figures
Mr Burkill also gave a forecast ahead of Thursday’s General Election.
‘It looks like there will be wind and rain for most places,’ he said, adding that central and southern parts of England were most likely to be hit with the rain.
Small amounts of sleet and snow are also expected in the highest parts of Scotland, with highest national temperatures of between 10C (50F) and 11C (51.8F).
The Needles on the Isle of Wight has already been hit by 83mph gusts as the south west and Wales were buffered by gales after the storm swept in from Ireland, where it disrupted transport and power networks.
Forecasters said delays are likely to road, rail, air and ferry transport, and that short-term loss of power is possible in some areas. The M48 Severn Bridge introduced lane closures yesterday due to increasing wind speeds.
Western Power Distribution said it had experienced 26 high voltage faults in the south-west on Sunday and two in Wales, leading to 5,500 customers being cut off from power over the course of the day.
In the South West, Coastsafe, a partnership campaign aiming to improve coastline safety, urged people to be wary of tidal surges and debris being thrown over sea walls during the storm.
By Thursday, parts of the UK could be drenched by close to an inch of rain in the 24-hour period covering election day. Areas along the west coast of England and Scotland are due heavy showers and blustery wind.
The band of showers moving across the country on Thursday will deposit around a third of an inch of rain throughout the day in most of England and Wales, although East Anglia should be largely dry.
Temperatures will be -3C (27F) in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, when polling stations open at 7am, with -1C (30F) in the north and 0C (32F) in the south.
Daytime highs will reach 11C (52F) in Plymouth, 5C (41F) in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 7C in Glasgow (45F). Mrs Smith advised voters: ‘Wrap up warm and take waterproofs and an umbrella.’
High winds put paid to sailings between Ardrossan and Brodick, Barra to Eriskay, Oban to Castlebay, Tayinloan to Gigha, Tarbert to Portavadie and all services from Mallaig.
Met Office figures show 3in (78.4mm) of rain fell at Achnagart in Ross-shire, between midday on Saturday and midday yesterday. By contrast, only 2in (56mm) fell in Ross and Cromarty during most of November.
** Have you taken any photographs of the windy weather today? Please email: pictures@mailonline.co.uk **