After days of freezing temperatures, Britain is braced for yet more snow, heavy rain and the possibility of winds reaching near-hurricane force.

PA WeatherCentre forecasters have warned of severe weather starting with heavy snow in southern Scotland this morning sliding from west to east across the Grampians.

The rest of Britain, in particular northern England, will have very heavy rain throughout today while south Wales, Devon and Cornwall will have strong winds gusting up to 75mph in exposed areas.

The warning comes after the freezing temperatures and snow on Wednesday and Thursday caused travel chaos, including the cancellation of 200 flights from Heathrow and Gatwick airports.

There will be a lot of rain in the coming week giving rise to the risk of flooding until Wednesday when conditions will become drier possibly with a return to colder temperatures, forecasters said.

Tony Conlan, meteorologist at the PA Weathercentre, said: 'As far as flooding with melting snow, it is most likely over East Anglia, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and up into Scotland.

'There are likely to be gales moving in about the same time as the band of rain over central and southern England and Wales. They could have gusts in south-west England up to 70 or 75mph - that is almost hurricane force.

'There will be an increased risks of flooding in areas as the week goes on.'

Throughout the poor weather, drivers are being warned to be extra cautious and check conditions before starting out on their journeys.

Michael Johnson, a spokesman for AA Roadwatch, said the organisation had received 15,500 breakdown calls on Thursday alone - up from an average of 10,000 - and were expecting a busy weekend.

He said: 'I think the conditions are going to quite severely affect the road network.

'Motorists are going to have to show a great deal of care.

'They could be facing particularly high winds. A 60mph gust creates four times the force of a 30mph wind.

'There are dangerous driving conditions likely in almost every part of the country and we really would advise drivers to check road conditions.'

Susanne Baker, of the Environment Agency, urged residents to monitor the agency's flood warnings either online or via floodline on 0845 988 1188.

This morning there were seven flood watches in place in the Anglian and south west areas plus Wales.

She said: 'We really would urge people, especially those in the west of the country, to keep an eye on the flood warnings.'

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