UK battered by heavy rain and gales with 94mph gusts from Hurricane Ian's impact

Brits have been battered by heavy rain and gale force winds as the impact of Hurricane Ian hit the country and gusts peaked at 94mph in the Scottish Highlands.

The Category 4 hurricane made landfall on the western coast of the US on Wednesday, hurling boats onto shore and completely destroying buildings with 150mph winds.

At least 21 people have lost their lives from the storm while around two million people in Florida have been left without electricity.

And a knock-on effect from the hurricane on the cross-Atlantic jet stream has started to cause adverse weather to the UK with a gale of 94mph having been recorded on Cairn Gorm in the Scottish Highlands on Friday morning.

The heaviest rain and fastest winds have impacted northern Scotland, as the hurricane sweeps an area of low pressure across Britain.

Northern Scotland was most effected by the severe weather conditions, but other parts of the west of the UK including Lancashire and Wales were also hit with heavy rain, strong winds and cloudy skies.

North Wales Police warned that the A498 between the Penygwryd Hotel and Beddgelert was closed due to a landslide on Friday.

A spokesperson said: "The road is completely blocked and officers are on their way. Diversions will be put in place once our colleagues from Highways arrive so please avoid the area."

On Friday night the worst of the weather was in the south east of the country with possibly 50mph winds.

Met Office forecaster Aidan McGivern said: "On Friday we’ve still got some heavy rain and strong winds clearing the south east and for a time a risk of gales through the Dover strait, 50mph wind gusts perhaps for exposed parts of Kent."

The Met Office had on Friday issued a yellow warning for the highland and Eilean Siar, SW Scotland, Strathclyde, Grapian, Central, Tayside and Fife areas, with locals to those areas being warned of rocky driving conditions due to the winds.

And the Met Office Chief Meteorologist, Paul Gundersen, predicted for Friday: “A spell of strong winds and heavy rain will push southeast throughout the day. The strongest winds are likely to be in northern Scotland, with gusts of 65 to 70 mph in coastal parts and perhaps 75 mph around the Northern Isles."

Looking ahead and the heavy rain isn't expected to stop over the weekend but it is expected to be in shorter bursts.

"We see blustery showers through the weekend for most places," added Mr McGivern.