AFTER the welcome respite today, prolonged rain is set to return to Gwent tomorrow afternoon as the remnants of the giant Hurricane Lorenzo blow in from the Atlantic.

And while coastal areas in west Wales - along with parts of south west England and Northern Ireland - are those likely to bear the brunt of the 60mph that come as part of the package, it is likely to be very windy in south east Wales too, to go with the downpours.

Rain is forecast in Newport and other parts of Gwent from late tomorrow afternoon, with the likelihood rising quickly from around 4pm.

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The heavy stuff is likely to last throughout the evening, overnight, and into early Friday afternoon.

As a consolation prize - and good news for the Newport Food Festival and other events planned in the region - Saturday is currently forecast to be dry, if mainly cloudy, though the rain is set to return during the night and into Sunday morning.

Winds are expected to be at the their strongest in Gwent in the early hours of Friday, October 4.

Lorenzo has weakened to a storm as it has crossed the Atlantic, but it is the most powerful ever recorded in the far east Atlantic, and a yellow weather warning for wind is in place for much of the west and south Wales coast, and the south west of England, from 4am-4pm on Friday.

The Met Office is warning of "likely" delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport during that period.

It is forecasting temperatures for Gwent of 14-16C during Thursday-Sunday.

The latest Met Office figures show that the UK had 27 per cent more rain in September than average.