Warnings herald windy start to 2018

 Britain is set for a wet and windy start to 2018 as the Met Office issued weather warnings for this week.

A yellow warning is in place from 6pm tonight and 8am tomorrow for north east and west England, Northern Ireland and parts of Scotland.

The warning predicts gales with gusts of 60 to 70mph likely, while some western coastal areas have a chance of seeing gusts of up to 80mph.

The next major storm to hit the UK will be called Storm Eleanor, but the Met Office has said that at this stage they will not be naming the stormy weather scheduled for this week.

A second yellow weather warning for high winds is also in place from just after midnight to 10pm tomorrow, covering the same areas as today, plus the Midlands, the east of England, London, the south east and south west and Wales.

The fresh warnings come just days after Storm Dylan lashed parts of Ireland and Wales with howling gales in excess of 70mph and squally rain for New Year’s Eve.