Dorset is in for a wild and windy night, with gusts of up to 65mph forecast from midnight onwards.

There is the potential for gusts of 60 to 70 mph along the coastal in the south and west. In Bourmemouth and Christchurch, gusts of 65mph are forecast for midnight, easing off again at around 2am.

It is also forecast to rain heavily from about 5pm until 9am tomorrow.

The Environment Agency has a flood alert in force for the whole of the East Dorset coast. Swanage, Bournemouth, Sandbanks, Studland, Poole, Christchurch harbour and Hengistbury Head are a risk of waves overtopping. 

There are flood warnings in place for West Bay and Lyme Regis. 

Dorset County Council said it would be monitoring West Bay Harbour from 10pm and may need to close The Esplanade depending on conditions. 

The warning says: "The forecast wind direction is south westerly, and the forecast wind strength is force 9. Very strong winds and large waves bring the potential for spray overtopping promenades, quays and along exposed coasts."

Network Rail will be running empty trains through the night to check that routes are clear. Chainsaw teams will be on-call to deal with any obstructions.

South West trains says trains between Weymouth and Southampton and Southampton and Portsmouth may have to run at slower speeds during the night than they normally would. 

A Network Rail spokesman said: “We are expecting winds to be at their highest in in the far west of the South West Trains network - between Weymouth and Southampton, and Exeter to Salisbury.

“Our teams will be working through the night to keep lines clear but we would advise people to check before they travel tomorrow morning with their operator or with National Rail Enquiries.”

The Daily Echo will be bringing you live updates on the bad weather from early on Thursday morning, 

The AA said they have attended 8,200 breakdowns nationwide so far today with patrols reporting a number of drivers were inadequately prepared for the cold weather. 

An earlier alert for strong winds which was valid from 3pm on Wednesday until 11.50pm on Thursday has been updated by the Met Office this lunchtime and will now be in force between 5pm on Wednesday and 6am on Thursday. 

Bournemouth Echo:

 

A second warning of rain is valid from 3pm today until 9am on Thursday. It says: “A spell of heavy rainfall is expected across many parts of western and southern England and Wales lasting from Wednesday afternoon until Thursday morning. This system has the potential to produce 20-40 mm of rainfall quite widely in the warning area, with as much as 50-60 mm over higher ground in the west.”

Much of Dorset missed out on snow this morning after the Met Office issued a warning but many people were treated to a rare 'thundersnow' storm overnight.