Met Office rain warning issued ahead of wet and windy weekend for some

A Met Office yellow warning for rain has been issued across parts of the UK as a developing area of low pressure looks set to dominate the weekend weather.

Areas of Scotland, northern England and Wales are covered by the warning which runs from Saturday morning until early on Sunday.

Flooding and travel disruption are possible, with this latest dose of rain coming after a very wet September so far. There is also the threat of gales around Irish Sea coasts.

After a brief burst of warmth on Friday, temperatures are expected to drop significantly over the weekend.

The rain warning covers southern Scotland, as far north as Dumfries to Dunbar. Large parts of northern England and the West Midlands are also covered, as well as most of Wales.

Within the warning area 20-30mm (0.8-1.2in) of rain is expected to fall widely, with the possibility of 60-80mm (2.4-3.1in) over high ground.

The warning is valid from 09:00 BST on Saturday until 06:00 on Sunday.

Computer weather models are not entirely in agreement about where the wettest of the weather will be so it is possible that impacts may be a bit further south into the Midlands and south-west England.

However, rainfall totals like these bring a risk of localised flooding, surface water and spray on roads, and possible delays on the railways.

The impacts could be worse than usual because of how much wet weather we have seen this September.

Some places have already recorded double the rainfall they would typically expect during the whole month.

It has been a marked a big change after the UK's hottest summer on record.

An area of low pressure is, perhaps unsurprisingly, going to be responsible for the heavy rain.

It will be deepening as it moves across the UK and, while there is some uncertainty about just how intense it will become, there is a risk that gales could develop in the west.

Gusts of 60-70mph (97-113km/h) are possible around Irish Sea coasts on Saturday afternoon and evening.

This could bring further travel impacts.

Ahead of the area of low pressure some areas have had a short, sharp burst of warmth on Friday.

Southerly winds from continental Europe have brought warm and humid air with temperatures likely to reach 26C (79F) in eastern England.

Northern and western parts of the UK will not get quite that warm but highs of 21C (70F) are forecast for parts of Wales, with 19C (66F) expected in north-east Scotland.

Parts of south-east England will hold on to the warmth into Saturday too, with temperatures around 22C (72F).

However, by Sunday, all parts of the UK will see the return to cooler conditions.

Brisk northerly winds will develop for the second half of the weekend bringing much cooler air southwards.

Afternoon highs of just 11-16C (52-61F) are likely - below the September average.

It will feel particularly chilly in areas that continue to see outbreaks of rain.

These cooler conditions are forecast to stay with us into the start of next week.

However, high pressure looks likely to build so things should become a little drier, at least for a time.

Keep up to date with our latest thoughts on the longer-term forecast by checking our monthly outlook.