Storm Evert is set to bring strong winds and heavy rain to Southend.

The Met office has issued a yellow weather warning for today (Friday, July 30) amid fears the gales will cause disruption across the town.

There is also the potential for heavy and thundery downpours throughout the day.

Parts of the UK could see winds top 75mph when the storm hits today, but Southend is unlikely to see the worst of the weather until tomorrow.

The weather warning is in place between 6am and 6pm on Friday, so here is the Met Office’s hour-by-hour forecast for Southend between that time:

6am – sunshine and showers with a 40 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 19mph

7am - sunshine and showers with a 30 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 21mph

8am - sunshine and showers with a 60 per cent chance of heavy showers. Wind speeds of 26mph

9am - sunshine and showers with a 60 per cent chance of heavy showers. Wind speeds of 26mph

10am - sunshine and showers with a 30 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 30mph

11am - sunshine and showers with a 30 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 34mph

12pm - sunshine and showers with a 30 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 36mph

1pm - sunshine and showers with a 60 per cent chance of heavy showers. Wind speeds of 39mph

2pm - sunshine and showers with a 30 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 38mph

3pm - sunshine and showers with a 40 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 40mph

4pm - sunshine and showers with a 40 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 37mph

5pm - sunshine and showers with a 40 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 34mph

6pm - sunshine and showers with a 30 per cent chance of showers. Wind speeds of 31mph

The Met Office says the strong winds caused by Storm Evert in Southend could cause disruption to all forms of transport, damage to buildings, create spray from the sea and short-term loss of power.

Met Office Principal Operational Meteorologist Dan Suri said, “Storm Evert will bring some high winds, particularly along the northern coast of the southwest, but there will be gusty winds more widely in southern areas, which brings the potential for some impacts, especially for those that might be travelling or camping in the weather.

“Storm Evert will move eastwards across southern UK during Friday daytime, clearing into the North Sea during Friday evening.

“As well as the high winds, there will also be some heavy rain before it leaves our shores, with up to 40 mm possible over parts of Wales and the southwest and the potential for 40 or 50 mm rain in a short period of time from heavy, possibly thundery, showers over parts of eastern and central England on Friday afternoon.”