UK could see first named storm of season as yellow warning issued for rain and wind

Strong winds and heavy rain are forecast for the UK this weekend.

An area of low pressure is set to develop on Sunday beneath a powerful 160mph Atlantic jet stream.

The Met Office have issued yellow wind warnings for parts of England and Wales valid between 20:00 BST Sunday and 18:00 BST Monday.

All eyes are on whether this will strengthen to become Storm Amy, the first named storm of the season.

Ahead of these strong winds and heavy rain forecast for Sunday and Monday, there will continue to be lots of showers and some thunderstorms for the next few days with sunny spells between. The showers will merge to give some longer spells of rain in west Scotland on Saturday.

Sunday will start bright but heavy outbreaks of rain will spread to all areas, becoming increasingly windy with gales developing in the south and west of the UK.

Winds will gust to 50-60mph around coasts and hills. Winds this strong could bring down some tree branches and lead to some localised disruption.

The Met Office's yellow warning for wind covers the south and west of England and much of Wales.

Heavy rain is an additional hazard with 10-30mm falling widely with some western hills having around 70mm.

There is a risk of surface water flooding and difficult driving conditions with the possibility of drains blocked by leaves, in part due to the false autumn leading to early leaf fall.

There is a chance that wind gusts could reach 70-80mph, bringing much greater impacts - including blowing over a few trees. There would also be a greater chance of disruption to transport and power.

Whether or not this area of low pressure will be strong enough for this to occur will become more clear over the next few days.

Check our forecast to keep up to date with the latest from BBC Weather.

There's been a notable change in our weather patterns since in recent weeks when a series of low pressure systems have brought widespread rain and showers.

Some areas of the north and west of the UK have already had more rainfall than average this September, even though we're not even at the half way point of the month. This all follows the hottest summer on record, which was also very dry for many.

We often see a change to more unsettled weather at this time of year as the jet stream becomes more active as we head into autumn.