Severe Storm Bert warnings for much of Wales

Severe weather warnings have been issued for "large swathes" of Wales and many other parts of the UK this weekend ahead of the arrival of Storm Bert.

Described as a "multi-hazard event", the storm will bring heavy rain, snow and strong winds from early Saturday and into Sunday.

The Met Office is predicting gusts of up to 50-60mph (80-96km/h) and has urged people to prepare for potential flooding in some areas.

A yellow warning for rain is in place for most of Wales from 06:00 GMT on Saturday until 06:00 on Sunday, with a yellow warning for strong wind spanning the north and west Wales coastline between 05:00 and 19:00 on Sunday.

It will also feel very chilly, with maximum temperatures of 7-8C (44-46F).

Met Office chief meteorologist Jason Kelly said: "Storm Bert is what we call a ‘multi-hazard event’, bringing snow, rain and wind to the UK for the majority of the weekend.

"It's expected to develop during Saturday morning across the southwest, becoming particularly heavy and persistent overnight and into Sunday".

He said: “50-75mm (2-2.9in) of particularly heavy and persistent rain is expected to fall fairly widely and the rapid melting of lying snow over the weekend may bring flooding for some.”

Some rail services are also expected to be disrupted.

The Conwy Valley and Heart of Wales lines - which run from Llandudno to Blaenau Ffestiniog and Swansea to Shropshire, via Carmarthenshire and Powys, respectively - will be closed all Saturday and Sunday because of the storm's expected impact.

Replacement road transport will be in place for the duration.

Other lines are so far operating as normal, but passengers were advised to check before they travelled.