The glorious autumnal weather is to be blown away by "severe" conditions and potential flooding over coming days, forecasters have warned.
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© Bernie Pettersen / SWNS.comThe colder weather will turn wet and windy towards the end of the weekend.
Households across swathes of the country were placed on high alert from tomorrow night as gale force winds and torrential showers threaten to bring about widespread damage.

Forecasters warned the storm sweeping across the country this weekend would bring "powerful" gusts of more than 60mph and up to two inches of rain in a matter of hours.

Authorities warned of localised flooding and damage caused by falling tree branches and roofs being blown off while motorists were warned of pending travel chaos, particularly for southern, central and eastern parts of England.

Tomorrow is expected to be the last fine day, ahead of a week of "unsettled" conditions brought about by a low pressure system.

The Met Office issued yellow "severe" weather warnings for London, the Home Counties, southern coasts and the south west of England and Wales from early Sunday while northern areas would experience clear skies and sunshine.

But tonight the warnings for "heavy and persistent rain" were extended for almost the entire country the following day, as the stormy conditions sweep north, heralding the end of several weeks of fine conditions.

The Environment Agency issued a "flood alert" for the south-west and warned of potential river flooding.

The threat of wild weather forced organisers to cancel a popular wildlife walk in Dorset. Only parts of Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern parts of Wales are expected to escape the wintry conditions.

The Met Office also warned of the first frosts of autumn would be felt from tonight as clear skies meant overnight temperatures struggle to stay above freezing.

Dan Williams, a Met Office spokesman, warned of days of markedly wet and windy conditions for the coming days.

He warned of surface flooding and "travel disruption" while households were warned to batten down and protect against falling branches and tiled roofs being ripped off.

"The important part of the story is that from Saturday night a low pressure system coming up from the south will bring about wet and windy weather for many parts of the UK," he said.

"We are expecting powerful wind gusts of up to 60mph and heavy rain that could bring up to 50mm [two inches] of rain across a large area of England.

"It is really going to give us some pretty unsettled weather for much of the week."