THE MET Office has issued a yellow ‘be aware’ weather warning as Storm Barney heads to the area.

Heavy rains and strong gales have been forecast as Britain’s second named storm is expected to bring winds of 80mph along the exposed coast of Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion.

The gales are expected to reach west Wales by mid to late afternoon today (Tuesday, Nov 17), and make their way eastwards as the day continues.

The chief forecaster warns: "A vigorous depression will track quickly east across Ireland and then northern England this evening, with a swathe of very strong winds developing on the southern flank of the low. The worst of the winds look likely to reach west Wales in the early evening, sweeping rapidly eastwards across the Midlands and East Anglia later during the evening."

The yellow ‘be aware’ warning extends into the early hours of Wednesday morning.

The Met Office has also warned that parts of south and west Wales may face serious travel disruption due to the high winds and heavy rain.

An additional hazard will be the large waves which will batter the coast and emergency services have warned people not to put themselves in danger along the seafront.

Flood alerts and flood warnings are updated on the Natural Resources Wales’s website every 15 minutes and are available to view at www.naturalresources.wales/flooding