Strong winds and heavy rain are expected later today and into tomorrow in Skipton as Storm Aileen is set to batter the country.

Drivers are being urged to take extra care on motorways and major A roads overnight and tomorrow morning during Storm Aileen.

Yellow warnings have been issued by the Met Office for many parts of the north, including Skipton, for heavy rain and strong winds.

Highways England has issued an amber ‘be aware’ alert across the country in response to a Met Office forecast of strong winds and heavy rain, which comes into force at 9pm tonight and runs until 9am tomorrow morning.

The Met Office Yellow warning in place for Skipton states: "Heavy rain is expected later on Tuesday and early on Wednesday. This may cause flooding on the transport network, with spray and difficult driving conditions due to the combination of rain and wind. There is also a small chance of flooding affecting homes and businesses."

It's separate warning on wind states: "Storm Aileen is expected to bring very strong winds with gusts of 50-60 mph on Tuesday night and into Wednesday morning. The worst of the winds, with gusts to 65-75 mph, are expected to be across North Wales, southern parts of Northern England, the North Midlands and Norfolk, for which area a separate Amber warning is being issued. Longer journey times by road, rail and air are likely, with restrictions on roads and bridges. There is also a chance of power cuts, and damage to trees and perhaps buildings. "

Westerly winds are expected to increase during the this evening into the early hours tomorrow morning with gusts in excess of 60 miles per hour possible over exposed roads during the night. Winds should begin to decrease during the morning peak period.

Drivers of lorries, caravans and motorbikes are being advised to avoid 53 exposed sections of the road network.

The first named storm of the year, Storm Aileen, is set to bring winds of up 75 miles per hour to parts of the UK this week, the Met Office said.

Low pressure will bring “very strong winds” across much of England and Wales on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, with an amber severe weather warning for gusts of 55-65mph in parts of Cheshire, Lancashire, Derbyshire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire.

A yellow weather warning for rain is also in place for parts of Northern Ireland, northern England and southern Scotland, which warns of 30-40 mm (1.2 to 1.6 inches) of rain falling within six to nine hours which could cause some disruption.

Chief forecaster Frank Saunders said: “Storm Aileen is expected to bring strong winds of up to 75mph to a central segment of the UK and an amber weather warning has been issued."