THE third named storm of the season is set to batter the UK with heavy winds and rain just weeks after Storm Babet caused devastating flooding across the country.

Storm Ciaran was named on Sunday and “is forecast to bring very strong winds and heavy rain to southern parts of the UK on Wednesday night and into Thursday”, according to the Met Office.

A forecast shared by the Met Office showed Storm Ciaran is expected to sweep across from the west before heading north-east across England.

Strong winds and rain are expected to hit much of the UK, including southern Scotland.

The Met Office said wind gusts of up to 90mph were possible on the most exposed coasts, while inland winds could hit 50-60mph.

Yellow weather warnings for rain have been put in place across southern England and Wales from Wednesday evening and throughout Thursday.

A yellow weather warning for wind has also been put in place across a wider area across the south of Britain for most of Thursday.

Separate yellow warnings are in place for rain across much of Scotland’s central belt and the east coast up to Peterhead on Sunday and Monday.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) currently has 11 regional and 18 local flood warnings in place.

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Sepa said in a statement on social media: “Flooding of low-lying land and roads is possible due to rain falling on already saturated ground and high river levels.

“This may cause disruption to travel and impacts to parts of some communities, especially roads and urban areas that see the heaviest rain.

“Coastal flooding due to spring tides, surges and large waves is also possible along the east coast, Orkney, Western Isles and parts of Solway coast.”

It comes after areas across Scotland and north-east England were battered with the worst of Storm Babet, which caused serious damage and several deaths when it hit last week.