Winds of up to 70mph are battering the south coast of England, with the arrival of heavy showers and hail as the Easter weekend kicks off.

A yellow weather warning for wind has been extended by the Met Office covering parts of Suffolk all the way to East Sussex and down into Cornwall.

Neil Armstrong, chief meteorologist at the Met Office, said “increasing wind speeds” due to Storm Nelson will sweep across the South due to an area of low pressure – bringing with it a risk of hail and thunder.

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Gusts of up to 50mph are likely in most places but winds could reach up to 60 to 70mph in exposed coastal areas.

“These winds will be accompanied by some heavy showers at times, with the possibility of hail and thunder in some locations, which will worsen travel conditions,” Mr Armstrong said.

The weather warning is in place until 11.59pm on Thursday, with commuters warned of hazardous conditions and potential travel disruption.

A yellow warning for rain is also in force across Northern Ireland, with 10mm to 20mm of rain likely to fall, causing “very saturated ground” and increasing the chance of travel disruption.

The warning is in place across all of Thursday until 3am on Friday.

The unsettled conditions are expected to continue into Easter, as the bank holiday weekend leads into a two-week break for many schools.

Sky News weather producer Joanna Robinson said Good Friday will be less windy than Thursday, with a few showers around on Saturday and Easter Sunday, along with pleasant sunny spells.

Temperatures of up to 15C (59F) are expected in west London and 14C (57.2F) in Manchester on Sunday, which is typical for the time of year.

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Rain is then set to return to the South on Easter Monday.

It comes as Britons have been warned of long delays over their Easter getaways with more than 14 million journeys expected on the roads alone.

At least three major airports have said that the coming days will be their busiest ever Easter weekend while 493 different pieces of planned engineering works are set to take place on the railways.

Meanwhile, nearly two inches of snow fell in parts of South West England and Wales overnight.

Temperatures dropped to lows of -1.2C in Okehampton, west Devon, while nearly three inches of snow was recorded in Sennybridge, Powys, on Thursday morning.

Rose Mallard, 50, a smallholder from near Bideford, north Devon, said it was a “gift” to wake up to see the snow settled and a beautiful blue sky.

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