FORECASTERS are warning of more stormy weather to come across the central belt.

Motorists are being advised to drive with care on today's home commute, with heavy rain and gale-force winds expected to hit the area by afternoon.

Gusts of up to 50mph and heavy rain are expected to worsen through the night.

Between 15-20mm of rain is forecast overnight. The wet and windy weather is expected to ease through tomorrow but will return through Saturday night into Sunday.

Northern Scotland can expect to see snow showers.

Lara Gunn of Meteogroup, the weather arm of PA, said: "It's going to be a very wet and windy day with gusts of up to 50mph.

"The wind will really pick up through the night, accompanied by more heavy rain."

Meanwhile, a search is continuing for a missing sailor and thousands of people are recovering from flooding and power disruption caused by the heavy downpours and gale-force winds.

Storms on Wednesday night left thousands of customers without power across the UK, including the Scottish Highlands.

Next week's Christmas getaway could be affected by unsettled weather, with heavy rain in the South and strong winds in the North, although forecasters stressed it was too early to say what impact this could have on the transport network.

A 23-year-old woman died in the Republic of Ireland when a tree fell on her car near Mullingar in Co Westmeath, while a 19-year-old man was also injured and taken to hospital when his car was hit by a falling tree in Warwickshire.

But while the UK gears up for a wild and wet run into the Christmas, Australia is experiencing a heat-wave.

Sydney is tipped to reach a maximum of 35C today, but even higher temperatures are expected for Saturday and Sunday.

caroline.wilson@eveningtimes.co.uk