New UK weather maps show Britain 'barely visible' under 685-mile mega-storm

The UK is barely visible on weather maps showing a 685-mile-long band of rain lashing much of the country well into next week.

Maps generated by WX Charts on Wednesday show a mass of the wet stuff stretching from Wick in the north to Southampton and Plymouth in the south at midnight on October 5.

If the maps prove accurate this far in advance, then rain will fall across Northern Ireland, Wales, most of Scotland and much of England, except the south-east as well as parts of Devon and Cornwall.

Rainfall totals look to be heaviest around Cardiff, Manchester and Birmingham with up to 4mm falling per hour at midnight on October 5, according to WX Charts.

By 6am on the same date, the rain clears for much of Northern Ireland, Wales and parts of Somerset, Wiltshire and Hampshire. But it's then the south-east's turn for a soaking, including Sussex, Kent and Greater London.

Most of England and Scotland will continue the rainy theme, although parts of western Scotland, the Inner Hebrides and the Outer Hebrides look drier, as does Northern Ireland.

Netweather says low pressure moving in from the west in the week of September 30 to October 6 means wet weather will sweep eastwards across the country, with the heaviest and most persistent in the west and north-west.

Although there is "uncertainty" as to how intense the low-pressure system will be and its track, there is also the potential for some strong winds during the same period.

By the end of that week, low pressure is set to dominate, with the back end of the week "very wet" for the majority of the UK, according to Netweather.

The forecaster expects rainfall totals to be well above normal for the time of year, despite some potential for dry weather mid-week. Temperatures will "probably" be 1C or 2C above normal for most due to some warm south-westerly flows, Netweather says.

Meanwhile, the Met Office has issued yellow severe weather warnings for rain this Thursday and Friday. The forecaster's Chief Meteorologist Paul Gundersen said that the rain on Wednesday and Thursday was potentially falling on already saturated ground and several warnings have been issued.

He added: "The highest rainfall totals are likely across the Pennines and North York Moors where 80-100mm could accumulate on Thursday, while others within the warning area could see 20-30mm quite widely.

"More severe weather warnings may be issued over the coming days so it's important to check the latest forecast for your area."

After further outbreaks of rain in central and southern areas of the UK on Friday, the Met Office expects it to turn cooler for much of the country ahead of the weekend.

Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist Brent Walker said: "Things will be turning decidedly cooler into the weekend, with frost likely for much of the UK overnight on Friday and a more autumnal feel to daytime temperatures.

"A north-westerly flow of air is developing, bringing cooler Arctic air over the UK and dropping temperatures into the weekend before the next low-pressure system pushes across the country from the North Atlantic."

He said this would bring the potential for some very wet and windy weather late on Sunday and into the start of next week, though exact details have yet to be determined.