Wind warnings issued as colder weather and mountain snow head south

Met Office warnings for wind have been issued for northern areas of the UK on Thursday - with the risk of some transport disruption.

There are yellow warnings in place for Scotland, Northern Ireland, northern England, North Wales and the north Midlands.

The strongest winds will be on and ahead of a cold front that will move southwards through the day.

Once the cold front, with its heavy rain has moved through, there will be a very abrupt drop off in the strength of the wind. Colder air will then follow.

A yellow warning for wind for North Wales, northern England, southern and eastern areas of Scotland comes in to force at 05:00 GMT and will stay valid until 20:00. A warning issued for Northern Ireland is valid from 06:00 to 12:00 GMT.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland the strongest winds will move through during the morning. Gales will be widespread with gusts reaching 50-60mph with a few stronger gusts possible in the Hebrides for a short time. Some delays or cancellations on the Scottish ferries look possible, with passengers being advised to check on travel updates before setting out.

In northern England, the north Midlands and North Wales, winds will tend to strengthen through the morning, but will not peak until the afternoon. Gusts will widely reach 50-60mph with a few gusts potentially in excess of 70mph for a short time.

The strongest winds will not just be around coasts and over the tops of hills, extending well to the east of the Pennines and the Cheviot Hills.

Some transport disruption is possible and the winds could cause problems for high-sided vehicles. Northern stretches of the M6, A68 and A1 could have some of the most challenging driving conditions.

Frequent showers on Thursday night and into Friday will turn wintry in the north of the UK.

Snow is likely to fall over high ground in Scotland, Northern Ireland, the north of England and North Wales above about 200m elevation. Over the highest ground in Scotland it could settle giving a covering of 10-20cm.

Friday will bring a day of sunshine and showers with the showers most frequent in the north and west. Some will have hail and an odd crack of thunder, but the showers won't last long as they get blown quickly across the skies by gusty winds.

The weather has turned much windier due to a very strong Atlantic jet stream with winds reaching 220mph. This has made intense areas of low pressure, and even though the centres of low pressure have been a long way to the northwest of the UK, they have still been close enough to bring zones of strong winds.

On Wednesday, gales were reported widely in Scotland with the strongest gusts affecting the islands. The strongest gust was 74mph in South Uist Range, Hebrides with Orkney recording a gust of 68mph. These strong winds led to the cancellation of some ferry services.

It will stay unsettled into the weekend with further strong winds and wintry showers forecast for Sunday and Monday.

For the latest hour-by hour forecast in your area check the BBC Weather website or BBC Weather app