THE Met Office has issued amber weather warnings for rain as Storm Claudia is set to bring heavy downpours and strong winds to much of central England and Wales on Friday.

Today (Thursday, November 13) the Met Office issued two amber warnings for rain across to accompany the other yellow warnings already in place for much of the country.

The two warnings, which encompass Ross-on-Wye, run from all of Friday afternoon until midnight, covering most of central Wales, stopping just north of Cardiff and covering most of the Midlands, ending just before the east coast of England.

Flooding is likely during heavy downpours brought by Storm Claudia, which was named by the Spanish meteorological service, the Met Office said.

The worst hit areas could see as much as 80mm of rain in a single day.

Friday is also set to be a wet day for most of the southern UK, with a larger yellow warning in place until Saturday morning and two smaller wind warnings also in place.