Parts of the UK are facing the possibility of up to a month’s rainfall in 24 hours, forecasters have warned as “danger to life” warnings were issued.

Gale force winds will also batter some regions and the first snow of autumn might hit higher ground, the Met Office said.

Heavy rain is set to stretch across the west of the country – with the drenching continuing in some areas for as long as 36 hours, potentially causing flooding and travel disruption.

Some regions could face “the possibility of up to 100mm of rain in 24 hours” (the equivalent of a typical month’s rainfall in some regions), Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge told The Independent.

He added: “There is a conveyor of cloud and rain that’s going to be bringing this rainfall more or less continually over parts of the west, especially Wales. Obviously there is a small chance of impact – so there’s a small chance that homes and properties could see some flooding.”

Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather Show all 8 1 /8 Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I stumbled on the firefighter in front of the burning home on the second day of the Camp Fire in a town called Magalia which is about five miles from Paradise, California. There were about five or six homes burning and firefighters were trying to save the houses near to those that were on fire. The heat from the fire was so intense that the firefighter could only stand near the burning building for 10-15 seconds before having to move away" - Justin Sullivan Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "This was only one of several large-scale forest fires in Brandenburg state in Germany last year, following droughts which left the forests in the region extremely dry. The year set a new record for fires that burned over 400 hectares. As a photojournalist covering the region for over 15 years, I now have to assume either drought or floods will very likely be a part of the news we will be covering every summer" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "This photograph was taken at a sunflower field at Goersdorf near Golssen in Germany. The farmers in the region are really despairing. In the years before many faced floods, in 2018 it was scorching heat. Many grow crops that are meant to feed their cows, so when the crops fail they need to buy feed. With the price of milk so low many are fearing for their economic survival if weather cycles like this continue" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "On the third day of the Camp Fire the flames had moved away from the town and were burning in the nearby hills. I captured this photo in Big Bend, as the story was shifting away from the fire itself and focusing on trying to locate missing persons and recover remains of those who had perished" - Justin Sullivan Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "You can see the Belchatow power plant and the rising steam and smoke from over 20km away. I went there the day before the start of the United Nations’ climate conference in Katowice, which took place in a region where coal has a long history and coal mining is woven into local tradition. Poland has made some strides with renewables, such as with wind turbines that now dot portions of the western Polish countryside. However, given how heavily Poland still relies on coal, it is unlikely that Belchatow will close anytime soon. According to a recent study by the European Commission Belchatow is Europe’s biggest single emitter of CO2" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I stayed the night at an alpine hut near the Waxeggkees glacier in Austria. An employee I talked to at night said, sometimes (this was August) she heard the sounds of ice breaking off the glacier and crashing across rocks. 100 years ago the glacier would have filled the photo. Now it takes over an hour to walk up to where the glacier begins" - Sean Gallup, photographer Getty Images Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I came across Mr. Helmut Kujat, 78, by chance after I photographed a parched farm nearby. He’s actually pouring the water into a tube that helps to better let the water reach the roots of the tree. He waters the trees in front of his house almost daily throughout spring and summer due to droughts and heat waves" - Sean Gallup Getty Photographers stories of capturing extreme weather "I took this photo about a week after the Camp Fire tore through the town of Paradise, California in November last year. It was the first opportunity to use a DJI Mavic Pro 2 drone to view the widespread devastation since the air space around the burn zone had been closed" - Justin Sullivan Getty

He added: “Given the fact that the warning is out for effectively 36 hours – from midday tomorrow until midnight on Saturday – it does provide the chance for the large amount of rain to occur ... and certain neighbourhoods could find conditions changing quite quickly during that period even if, at the beginning of the warning, everything’s fine.”

Yellow weather warnings, which indicate a small chance of fast-flowing or deep floodwater causing danger to life (while also suggesting the possibility of travel disruption), have also been issued for regions in the north of the country, from Carlisle to Greater Manchester, as well as the length and breadth of Wales.

Gale force coastal winds are also expected to batter Northern Ireland, Wales and the north of England – with wind speeds on the south coast expected to be as high as 55mph.

However, beyond the warnings the weekend is due to end with dry and brighter weather – albeit with a wintery chill, with the majority of the country unlikely to be warmer than 11C on Sunday.

Mr Madge said: “Sunday begins relatively clear in most places, especially in the south, which should have a pretty good day on Sunday. But there is a change to a more northerly airflow and that could bring other changes with it – quite noticeably we could start to see wintery showers in some of the uplands of northern Britain – probably parts of Dumfries and Galloway, and the peak district, perhaps.”