COMMUTERS are urged to be cautious this morning as strong gales from Storm Gareth has already affected rail and road links across the country.

The Met Office has issued two yellow warnings for high winds covering most of England, Northern Ireland, Wales, and the west coast of Scotland.

Gusts of up to 75mph were recorded in Scotland on Tuesday night, while winds of more than 60mph were seen across western parts of the UK last night.

Storm Gareth is expected to continue moving across the country throughout the day, with the worst of the winds occurring in the early hours before gradually easing later on in the afternoon as the storm moves out to the North Sea.

Transport links were at risk of being impacted and commuters using trains were warned that services could be disrupted by high winds during the morning rush hour, with speed restrictions in place across a wide area.

Met Office forecaster Alex Burhill said: "We've got some very strong winds. The strongest in the morning rush hour are probably going to be around Northern Ireland and also western coastal parts, particularly western Scotland and north-west England.

"Eastern areas might start getting some very strong winds by that point, but generally across much of the UK it's going to be very windy this morning.

"People need to be aware that there could be some travel disruption because there could be delays to things like ferries and aircraft and also bridges may need to be closed."

Heavy showers with some thunder are also expected across the northern half of the UK as the storm moves across throughout the day.

Dozens of flood alerts have been issued by the Environment Agency in England, including two warnings for the River Ouse at York.

The storm is expected to have moved out into the North Sea by tonight.