“Wind speeds could be in excess of 60mph tomorrow as the Met Office issues yellow-level alerts for gusty conditions and rain in Kent towns.

The agency is warning that the unseasonably windy conditions, accompanied by showers or longer spells of rain, could disrupt travel and outdoor activities.

The bad weather, expected between 4am and 6pm on Wednesday, has caused the Broadstairs Water Gala event to be pushed to a future date.

“Sorry, we are as disappointed as you are,” said the organisers.

“The weather has beaten us again – the latest Met Office forecast is for heavy, squally showers with possible thunder/lightning with strong to gale force winds along the coast.

“It would not be safe for us to attempt to run an event with water/beach and bandstand activities, the funfair will still be open throughout the day, however, some rides/ attractions may not be able to operate.

“If the wind moderates as forecasted, we are still planning for the nighttime bandstand music, firework display and funfair to go ahead, but we will have to review this early Wednesday morning when we've seen the updated forecast.

“We will be re-scheduling the Water Gala activities/ events to Wednesday, August 23 – hopefully summer will at last be here by then – along with a grand firework finale. “

A warning from meteorologists said: “The highest winds affect English Channel coastal areas during the morning with gusts expected to widely reach 45-50mph.

“Winds could be in excess of 55-60mph in the most exposed spots in the far south and southwest of England.

“Later in the afternoon winds will start to slowly ease.”

The Met Office added that coastal communities will likely be hit by spray and large waves and that power outages are also possible.

“Delays for high-sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges are likely.

“Some delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport are likely, and bus and train services will probably be affected with some journeys taking longer.

“Some short-term loss of power and other services is possible.

“Trees and temporary structures such as marquees and tents may be damaged.”