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Britons are braced for a weekend of thundery rain and gale-force winds as severe weather alerts covering most of the UK today come into force.

Forecasters warned of potential floods and travel disruption, with motorists and commuters in some places being told to avoid travelling if possible.

Several festivals and events have been cancelled as the Met Office said there was a threat of gales up to 60mph and thundery downpours striking as soon as Friday.

The Met Office said westerly regions will be hit first as it issued a yellow wind warning beginning on Friday afternoon, covering West Wales, Devon and Cornwall, and stretching to parts of the Channel coast.

A second warning will then come into force on Saturday covering the whole of Wales and southern and central England as far north as Blackpool, Huddersfield and Grimsby.

Neil Armstrong, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said: "This low-pressure system will bring challenging conditions, including unseasonably strong winds and heavy rain, from the west during Friday and Saturday.

"Summer storms - compared with those in autumn and winter - always have the potential to create additional impacts because more people are likely to be outdoors, especially by the coast.

"Additionally with trees in full leaf they are more vulnerable to being brought down by strong winds."

Flooding in the North of England - In pictures 33 show all Flooding in the North of England - In pictures 1/33 Flooding at Grinton Moor Road TC Rich Grey 2/33 A major incident was declared after the flooding in Poynton PA 3/33 The roof of a submerged car on the A555 near Handforth, Cheshire PA 4/33 Police are evacuating the entire town of Whaley Bridge PA 5/33 Flooding in Poynton, Cheshire PA 6/33 PA 7/33 A bike rider comes to a halt as flood water blocks a road on the A555 near Handforth, Cheshire PA 8/33 PA 9/33 Hazel Wainwright outside her house after it was flooded in Poynton, Cheshire PA 10/33 Martin Ward inspecting flood damage in his house after it was flooded in Cheshire, after heavy rainfall caused severe flooding PA 11/33 PA 12/33 The dam protects the town of Whaley Bridge PA 13/33 Flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire PA 14/33 A car being driven through flood water in Yorkshire PA 15/33 There are fears the town of Whaley Bridge could be swamped by water from the Toddbrook reservoir PA 16/33 Roads washed away and a bridge collapsed after parts of North Yorkshire saw up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours PA@OscarRomeo1268 via PA 17/33 Soldiers from 2 Yorks arrive in Grinton to help out with flood clean-up efforts PA 18/33 Rowena Hutchinson, owner of the Red Lion Inn in Langthwaite, stands in her living room after her home and pub were devastated by flood water, PA 19/33 A house is surrounded by flood water in Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours PA 20/33 A man drives through flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours PA 21/33 Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team of damage to a bridge in the Swaledale area of North Yorkshire PA 22/33 A woman walks through flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire PA 23/33 A man drives along a flooded road in Grinton, North Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hour PA 24/33 Shocking damage to a bridge in the Swaledale area of North Yorkshire was shared by Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team PA 25/33 A woman walks through flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire PA 26/33 Flooding in Yorkshire PA 27/33 Coastguard crews rescued a man and a woman who were left 'clinging by their fingernails' to the Filey Brigg cliff Owen Scrimshaw via PA 28/33 Gareth Walls likened the large hailstones to 'pickled onions' Gareth Walls via PA 29/33 Daamaged road and floodwater on the B6270 between Downhome and Grinton, North Yorkshire @OscarRomeo1268 via PA 30/33 The size of hailstones falling in Masham, North Yorkshire @loftusfarms via PA 31/33 Coastguard crew rescuing a man and a woman from Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire Owen Scrimshaw via PA 32/33 Coastguard crew arriving to rescue a man and a woman from Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire PA 33/33 Hailstones falling with a toy digger in Masham, North Yorkshire @loftusfarms via PA 1/33 Flooding at Grinton Moor Road TC Rich Grey 2/33 A major incident was declared after the flooding in Poynton PA 3/33 The roof of a submerged car on the A555 near Handforth, Cheshire PA 4/33 Police are evacuating the entire town of Whaley Bridge PA 5/33 Flooding in Poynton, Cheshire PA 6/33 PA 7/33 A bike rider comes to a halt as flood water blocks a road on the A555 near Handforth, Cheshire PA 8/33 PA 9/33 Hazel Wainwright outside her house after it was flooded in Poynton, Cheshire PA 10/33 Martin Ward inspecting flood damage in his house after it was flooded in Cheshire, after heavy rainfall caused severe flooding PA 11/33 PA 12/33 The dam protects the town of Whaley Bridge PA 13/33 Flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire PA 14/33 A car being driven through flood water in Yorkshire PA 15/33 There are fears the town of Whaley Bridge could be swamped by water from the Toddbrook reservoir PA 16/33 Roads washed away and a bridge collapsed after parts of North Yorkshire saw up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours PA@OscarRomeo1268 via PA 17/33 Soldiers from 2 Yorks arrive in Grinton to help out with flood clean-up efforts PA 18/33 Rowena Hutchinson, owner of the Red Lion Inn in Langthwaite, stands in her living room after her home and pub were devastated by flood water, PA 19/33 A house is surrounded by flood water in Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours PA 20/33 A man drives through flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hours PA 21/33 Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team of damage to a bridge in the Swaledale area of North Yorkshire PA 22/33 A woman walks through flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire PA 23/33 A man drives along a flooded road in Grinton, North Yorkshire, after parts of the region had up to 82.2mm of rain in 24 hour PA 24/33 Shocking damage to a bridge in the Swaledale area of North Yorkshire was shared by Swaledale Mountain Rescue Team PA 25/33 A woman walks through flood water outside Dales Cafe and Cakery in Yorkshire PA 26/33 Flooding in Yorkshire PA 27/33 Coastguard crews rescued a man and a woman who were left 'clinging by their fingernails' to the Filey Brigg cliff Owen Scrimshaw via PA 28/33 Gareth Walls likened the large hailstones to 'pickled onions' Gareth Walls via PA 29/33 Daamaged road and floodwater on the B6270 between Downhome and Grinton, North Yorkshire @OscarRomeo1268 via PA 30/33 The size of hailstones falling in Masham, North Yorkshire @loftusfarms via PA 31/33 Coastguard crew rescuing a man and a woman from Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire Owen Scrimshaw via PA 32/33 Coastguard crew arriving to rescue a man and a woman from Filey Brigg in North Yorkshire PA 33/33 Hailstones falling with a toy digger in Masham, North Yorkshire @loftusfarms via PA

Warnings are also in place at Whaley Bridge, where around 1,500 residents were recently allowed home after the damaged Toddbrook Reservoir was deemed safe.

Derbyshire Police released a statement on Thursday afternoon which said if the water reached a "level of concern, the residents in the evacuation zone will be the first to know".

Two music festivals were cancelled over the weather and other events, including the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, were also scaled back.

Houghton, a Norfolk dance music festival, was cancelled just hours before it was due to start, its "devastated" organisers announced on Facebook.

The decision was taken after Boardmasters, in Newquay, was called off on Wednesday.

The weather warnings will be cut back on Sunday to cover only northern England, where thunderstorms are likely, and none are currently in place for Monday.

The Met Office had previously described the conditions as "more like autumn than August" and forecast winds of up to 60mph in some places.

Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland may also be hit by thunderstorms over the weekend.

Richard Leonard, head of road safety at Highways England, urged drivers to check conditions before they travel and "consider if their journey is necessary".

"In high winds, there's a particular risk to lorries, caravans and motorbikes so we'd advise drivers of these vehicles to slow down and avoid using exposed sections of road if possible," he said.

The RNLI has also warned people visiting the coast to beware of large waves and storms.

In Scotland rail passengers faced severe disruption on Thursday when Winchburgh Tunnel, near Broxburn in West Lothian, flooded following 50mm of rainfall the previous day.

Trains between Edinburgh and Glasgow and Dunblane were delayed or cancelled for almost 24 hours.