The UK will be battered by a 'European monsoon' today as 80mph winds and torrential rain sweep up the country.
The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for Wales, south-west England, the Midlands, London and the South East and eastern parts of the country.
Last night the weather front lashed the lower half of the country as an area of low pressure moved up through Southern England.Today winds could reach up to 80mph in some parts.
Waves of up to 40ft have been reported off the Cornish coast and more than 50 fallen trees, many blocking roads and damaging property, were cleared overnight in Devon as winds of up to 70mph blasted seaside towns and rural villages.
Some uprooted trees have brought down power cables and Western Power Distribution engineers are working to restore electricity to nearly 300 homes across the region.
The storms are set to ease off in the South over the weekend.
Tomorrow the rain will edge northwards into central Scotland, turning increasingly heavy as the day progresses.
The stormy weather is also causing havoc on the roads. A teenager was rushed to hospital with 'serious head injuries' after crashing his moped on the A259 Brighton Road in high winds in Lancing, Sussex, in the early hours of this morning.
A Met Office spokesman said: 'The weather is likely to remain unsettled for the rest of the day with blustery gales expected.
Coastal areas are going to be taking the worst of the gales and there is potential of damage due to fallen trees which I would advise people to be aware of.
'We hope the weather will be more settled over the weekend, it looks like the worst of it today.'
Meanwhile a woman driver has been taken to hospital following an early morning crash on the A27 between Shoreham and Hangleton in West Sussex.
The road was closed for over three hours causing 'long delays' and traffic jams of up to one hour.
The Highways Agency warned drivers of high-sided vehicles to avoid the A2 and A20 in east Kent, the A26 between Lewes and Newhaven in East Sussex and the A27 between Pevensey in East Sussex and Hampshire.
Today, organisers were forced to cancel the annual Suffolk County Show after high winds caused some of the marquees at the showground to blow over during the night.
The last time the show was cancelled was in 2001 due to the foot and mouth outbreak.
A ship which took part in the Queen's Diamond Jubilee pageant was also blown off her moorings in Kent after strong winds and heavy rain battered the county. The medieval replica Matthew was blown across the quay at Sandwich at about 5am and on to mud opposite.
