This is when Storm Adrian is set to bring heavy rain and strong winds to southern, central and eastern England

Storm Adrian is arriving from the south east after battering Europe. It has killed at least 11 people in Italy, flooding much of Venice, and brought as much as 40cm of snowfall to south-central France.

Its effects in the UK will be far less severe. It is set to bring wet, windy weather to the south east from Wednesday night, spreading to central and eastern England on Thursday.

The east and south east can expect as much as 15mm of rain and 45mph winds, before the weather settles on Friday, when most of the country is expected to be dry and sunny.

Wet, windy weather for much of UK this weekend

However, the respite will be brief. The tail end of Hurricane Oscar is likely to strike the UK over the weekend, with long rainy periods and even snow possible in some parts of the country.

A Met Office spokesperson said: “The remnants of Hurricane Oscar will move into the eastern Atlantic and most likely track to the north west of the UK this weekend.

“This could bring strong winds and heavy rain, mainly to western and north western parts of the UK. However, there is currently some uncertainty in the exact track of Oscar, which would affect the detail of rainfall amounts and winds strengths, so it is too early for specific details at this stage.”

Heaviest rain in the west, snow possible

On the outlook for the weekend and beginning of next week, they added: “The weather will be generally unsettled through this period. There will be some clear and sunny interludes, but interspersed with showers and longer spells of rain too.

“The heaviest rain is more likely in the west, whereas eastern parts of the UK are expected to be a little drier. It is likely to be fairly cold in the north west, with perhaps some sleet or snow at times on northern hills, but it will probably be slightly milder in the south east.