BRITAIN was last night bracing itself for savage storms with winds of up to 90mph expected to batter the country.

The Met Office has issued a warning that the weather will be so severe, it could cause significant danger to life.

The south of the country has the highest risk of being affected but there is a ten per cent chance the North-East and North Yorkshire will also be hit by high winds.

The first storm is expected to come today with 70mph to 90mph winds and heavy rain.

The Met Office said winds at that speed bring down trees, cause damage to buildings and disrupt transport. Flooding is also expected, with some snow in central England.

Further storms may strike the country tomorrow and Wednesday but there is a lower chance that they will affect the North-East.

A spokesman for the Met Office said: "The further north in the country the less chance there is of being hit by the storms.

"However, there is a chance to up to ten per cent that the entire country could be affected."

The spokesman added that there could be 25 to 40mm of rain across southern England in a few hours today.

The Met Office will be issuing updates throughout the day.

The storm was expected to hit the south-west today at about 6am and make its way eastwards across the country.

Meanwhile, people watched as a tornado hundreds of feet high whizzed along the Bristol Channel during a storm yesterday.

Businessman Nigel Evans spotted the freak weather phenomenon from the window of his home on Barry Island, in south Wales.

He said: "There were a couple of claps of thunder and lightning so I went to the window, looked outside and saw a tornado just touching down in the channel."

* Police closed the Newton Cap viaduct, on the A689 at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, to lorries and caravans from about 9.30pm last night, because of high winds.