THE Met Office has issued a yellow warning as severe 55mph winds are set to cause travel chaos and power cuts.

Thunderstorms, heavy rain and hail will hit today – with strong gales lashing Brits.

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A yellow wind warning will be in force for Wales, Northern Ireland and the whole of England south of Newcastle until 10pm tonight.

Howling winds of up to 55mph will likely spark road, train, ferry and flight delays throughout the warning zone.

Power cuts and phone signal outages are also possible, forecasters said.

The mercury will plunge today as blustery showers spread across the UK.

Gusty winds will bring hail and thunder to most of the country this afternoon.

The showers will peter out this evening, but it will still be rather windy with rain clouds lingering on along the North Sea coast.

Groundwater flooding is possible in parts of Dorset and Wiltshire this week.

The Environment Agency has issued eight red flood warnings and 65 amber flood alerts across England.

Tomorrow will be drier with a mix of sunny spells and scattered showers.

But it will still be chilly with blustery winds buffeting most of the country.

Wednesday will also be mostly dry, though the north west could see some rain.

It will be rather cloudy on Thursday, with light rain spreading to the south.

Friday will also be overcast before the wind peters out and warm weather returns this coming weekend.