Authorities warn of difficult conditions in many areas only days after Christmas Eve storm

Heavy rain and gales of more than 100mph have returned to Britain - just days after the last storm caused Christmas misery for tens of thousands of people.

The Met Office issued yellow and amber weather warnings, indicating "severe or hazardous weather" with potential to "cause danger to life or widespread disruption" and urged many people to prepare for flooding.

Police warned drivers to use extreme caution as trees were being blown on to the roads by ferocious winds.

Cheshire police reported "awful driving conditions" and a number of roads had been blocked by fallen trees overnight.

"Many trees down due to strong winds. We would ask all drivers to exercise extreme caution whilst driving tonight," the force tweeted.

About 4,000 customers in Northern Ireland were without electricity on Friday morning after trees fell across power lines and electricity poles were broken. Emergency crews and engineers were assessing the damage and carrying out repairs.

The storm was forecast to spread east across the whole of the UK throughout the morning, with the worst-affected areas expected to be northern England and northern parts of Wales, the Met Office said.

Police and fire services across the country reported road closures because of uprooted trees.

The Met Office recorded a gust of 109mph in Aberdaron, west Wales, early on Friday morning - with general wind speeds of between 60mph and 80mph expected in the UK.

Dublin airport tweeted that it had had to divert six planes because of strong winds.

The Irish Meteorological Service issued its highest weather warning, urging people to protect themselves from strong winds, heavy rain and very high seas arriving in the west and south of the country. The rest of the country was on "amber alert", with the public told to be prepared for disruption.

The UK Environment Agency warned of more significant disruption across southern England, saying: "It is possible that heavy rain may worsen the current flooding situation in some areas with rivers responding quickly to rain falling on already saturated ground."

The rain will exacerbate ongoing river flooding across the Somerset levels, river Severn, river Thames and river Ouse in Cambridgeshire and rivers across Essex, as well as along the Medway and the Kentish Stour around Ashford and Canterbury.

There are 52 flood warnings and 157 flood alerts in place, but the EA said the number of alerts may increase as rivers respond to the further band of rainfall.
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© Jason Reeve/Demotix/Corbis
More than 43,000 people were left without power following Monday night's storm and around 1,200 properties were flooded in England.

Friday's storm was expected to cause fresh travel problems for airlines, train operators and bus companies as well as for drivers returning to work or home following the Christmas break.

Network Rail advised that routes would need to be checked, tracks cleared of any fallen trees and any damage repaired before train services could start.

Southeastern said it was unlikely to run any metro or mainline train services until at least midday, while Network Rail said services in Kent and East Anglia would be delayed.

Robin Gisby, managing director of network operations at Network Rail, said: "Passengers have had a tough week of travelling and unfortunately that is likely to continue for at least another day.

"Thousands of railway workers have worked tirelessly over the holiday period to try and repair the significant damage caused by Monday's storm and will be called on again over the next 24 hours.

"As ever, safety comes first, as we ensure routes are safe for passenger services, leading to a delayed start-up in some regions."

Gatwick airport said it had "additional teams of engineers, electrical staff and volunteers at the airport to minimise the risk of disruption from potential further flooding".

Flights at Gatwick were affected on Christmas Eve after a power cut at the north terminal.

Source: Press Association