GALE-FORCE winds reaching up to 60mph will hit Britain TODAY as the remnants of Hurricane Lorenzo spark power cuts and whip up 30ft swells.
The 500-mile-wide storm – dubbed a "real beast" by the Met Office – will thrash the west coast before bringing rain across much of the country this morning.
There are eight flood warnings and 34 flood alerts in place across the country after several days of heavy rain.
The majority of the warnings are across the Midlands and north of England.
Met Office weather forecaster Craig Snell said the impacts of Hurricane Lorenzo – now downgraded to a storm – were strengthening last night.
He said: "The centre of Lorenzo is just off to the west of Ireland and it's beginning to produce gale-force winds across the Republic of Ireland.
"The winds are beginning to strengthen."
60MPH GALES
He added certain areas of the UK's west would experience gales from 50-60mph as rain hammers down this morning.
The rain will move "into the far west of the UK before transferring eastwards."
He added: "This morning the first band will have cleared into the sea and the second band of rain will hit in South West England."
Coastal routes will also be affected by large waves with power losses possible.
Mr Snell warned: "The rain will be heavy but it's moving fairly quickly, and in Northern England we will see about 20 to 30mm of rain."
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Hurricane Lorenzo, which was a maximum Category 5 storm before hitting the Azores, was the strongest hurricane ever recorded so close to Europe.
The Met Office said: “The National Hurricane Center has confirmed Hurricane Lorenzo is the strongest on record this far north and east in the Atlantic.”
Winter's first snow hit Scotland on Tuesday, with a covering on Cairngorm, Highland as polar winds blew in.
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