UK faces hurricane-force winds Sunday

[Chacor]

'Rare' gales set to hit Britain

People across the UK are being warned to brace themselves for unusually stormy weather as high winds and heavy rain are forecast for Sunday.

The storms - with winds which could reach 65mph across northern Britain - are expected to peak around midday.

The worst affected areas are expected to be north Wales and northern England, but Northern Ireland and southern Scotland may also be affected.

BBC forecaster Tomasz Schafernaker said the weather was abnormal for June.

"Although it's not unusual to have this kind of weather during the winter it's rare to see this kind of gale this time of year," he said.

He went on: "The vicious gusts of wind will not only be reserved to coastal districts but may happen further inland too.

"Cities such as Manchester and Leeds are in the path of the heavy weather.

"Irish Sea coasts will be affected with heavy waves and Blackpool's Pleasure Beach may be not so pleasurable."

He also warned of potential travel problems.

"With the trees in full leaf, as the high winds blow through, they are liable to pull branches down," he said.

"This could lead to problems on roads and rail with lying branches and even trees.

"The gale will be concentrated in the north but do expect a windy day for everybody right across the UK."

On a brighter note, he said, the weather was set improve.

"Looking forward to next week's Wimbledon, things will become more settled and warmer," he added.

[HURAKAN]

[Cryomaniac]

We may just get the edge of that here. I like windstorms, they can be pretty intense without doing major damage.

[KWT]

Just to show the contrast, here near London its been a fairly warm day with at times clear skies and only a moderate breeze earlier this morning would give any indication of windy weather further NW.