Heavy rain and wind is set to lash the UK this week as storms move in from Europe.

Britons are expected to be hit with downpours and 60-65mph winds along the coasts from Thursday to Saturday, with the Met Office issuing a yellow warning on Friday.

It will come as Storm Alex – named by the French meteorological service – moves across northern France and into the Channel, bringing potential flooding, large waves and delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport to southern England.

Most of the UK will see heavy rain across the three-day period.

Oli Claydon, a Met Office forecaster, said: “On Wednesday evening bands of rain will push from west to east, with most parts of the UK seeing some kind of rainfall.

“Thursday should be bright for large parts of England and Wales, with scattered showers here and there, though Scotland will remain under cloud.

“But by Friday this will become a lot more unsettled, as low pressure moves in from France along with Storm Alex, bringing with it wet and windy weather, particularly along the south coast.”

Mr Claydon said a yellow wind and rain warning is in place for southern England, warning people to be wary of bigger waves as 65mph gusts could strike coastal areas.

He added: “This will start to calm down by around 8pm, though Saturday will remain fairly breezy with downpours continuing throughout the day.”

Parts of London, the south east and south west will see maximum temperatures of around 14C (57.2F) until the weekend.

Northern Ireland is expected to be very cold overnight this week, with temperatures dropping to -2C (28.4F) in the early hours of Thursday.

Large parts of Scotland will remain around the 11C (51.8F) mark, dropping to lows of 6C (42.8F) during the evenings.

Mr Claydon said this was “normal” for the time of year as more wintry weather moves in.