Be Prepared: Fierce Storms Heading For UK

Gale-force winds are predicted to batter Britain by the end of the week as a 250mph jet stream from the Atlantic hits UK shores.

The Met Office has upgraded its strong wind warning for Thursday night into Friday from yellow to amber as gusts of up to 100mph are expected.

The amber alert means Be Prepared and is a warning to expect disruption to transport as well as power supplies and possible damage to homes and buildings.

The change in weather is set to start within hours, with winds of up to 60mph in the north and up to three inches of rain predicted to fall over western parts of the country, with the Pennines expected to see the largest deluge.

Sky News weather presenter Nazaneen Ghaffar said: "The next few days look set to be wet and very windy for most, especially so across the northwest of the UK and Ireland.

"The winds will begin to strengthen through Thursday night across Northern Ireland, the Republic and Scotland as the first depression approaches from the west.

"Severe gales are expected in northwest Scotland with gusts potentially reaching 100mph over exposed parts there by the early hours of Friday morning. As well as that, heavy rain will also spread into these areas and into most of Britain through the night."

Forecasters say conditions towards the end of the week could rival the weather that battered parts of southern England at the end of 2013, leaving tens of thousands of homes without power and huge swathes of the UK left crippled as the storms hit the south coast.

There are fears of uprooted trees, power cuts and transport chaos from the latest storms. Large waves may also lead to dangerous conditions along coastal areas.

The Met Office had earlier issued yellow warnings going into the weekend amid predictions that two areas of low pressure would bring more extreme weather.

The extra-fast jet stream has been triggered by plunging temperatures in the US which has hit warmer air south, stirring up potent winds.