Floods rain and snow: the latest weather forecast for South Wales

South Wales could face localised flooding today, as strong winds are expected to bring a band of heavy rain to the region.

That is the message from the Environment Agency, which warns of excess water on road surfaces and flooding from blocked drains and small streams.

Forecasters warns a combination of rain and snow melt amid the big freeze thaw could pose a localised flood risk.

A yellow weather warning of snow is in place in South Wales from 9am today until 6am tomorrow. A yellow warning of rain comes into force 3pm today, and remains in place until midnight.

River levels could rise and flood alerts may be issued, but the likelihood of flooding from larger rivers is low.

Care should be taken as driving conditions may be hazardous.

Heavy rain and hail is forecast from around midday in Swansea and from 9am in Neath and Carmarthen, accompanied by wind gusts of up to 39mph.

Showers will most likely subside by the early hours of Saturday, and a cloudy but dry day should follow.

By late afternoon or early evening, however, heavy downpours are set to make another appearance. Alongside wind gusts of up to 42mph, rain is set to fall until around 9am on Sunday.

A yellow warning of rain comes into force at 3am.

Sunday will be cloudy with sunny intervals, with the possibility of light showers in the afternoon.

Sunday night should be clear and dry but windy, with gusts of up to 34mph.

Next week will get off to a dreary start, the Met Office warns, with near-continual heavy rain across much of South Wales from midday on Monday until midnight on Tuesday. Wind gusts could reach 59mph.

BBC and Met Office forecaster Derek Brockway, based in Cardiff, this morning tweeted: "Weekend: Saturday the best day - window of fine weather. Turning wet & windy Sat. evening/overnight. Sunday brighter with blustery showers."

UPDATE 12.10PM:

Swansea could wake up to mist tomorrow, the Met Office has said.

Mist is forecast from around 6am until midday, and temperatures will feel low.

Meanwhile Neath and Llanelli are likely to see hail tonight, from around 6pm to 9pm, after an afternoon of heavy showers.

Cardiff is set to see hail from around 9pm today, and sleet mid-morning tomorrow.

UPDATE 12.40PM:

Snow is falling in Swansea, according to reports on Twitter.

UPDATE 12.50PM:

An amber weather warning of snow has been issued in South Wales today.

The warning, which urges the public to "be prepared" for widespread snow and disruption to road, rail and air transport, has been issued between midday and midnight.

Hail is forecast in Neath and Swansea from 6pm today, and expected to continue until around midnight. Carmarthen and Llanelli could see hail from 6pm until 9pm.

The amber warning has been issued alongside a yellow warning of rain already in place from 3pm to midnight. A yellow warning of snow, issued yesterday, is in place from midnight until 6am tomorrow.

UPDATE 2.10PM:

A yellow weather warning of ice has been issued for South Wales tomorrow.

The warning, which urges the public to "be aware" of widespread icy stretches on untreated roads and pavements, has been issued between 3am and midday on Saturday.

The warning is the latest of many to be issued in the region - an amber warning of snow is in place today until midnight, alongside a yellow warning of rain between 3pm and midnight.

A yellow warning of snow is in place from midnight until 6am tomorrow.

And a yellow warning of rain has today been issued for Tuesday, from 3am until midnight. There is a yellow rain warning already in place for Sunday.

UPDATE 3.10PM:

The AA has so far today attended around 8,200 call-outs, including 46 cars stuck in snow. By the end of the day the AA expects to attend more than 13,000 breakdowns, compared to around 9,500 on an average Friday.

Breakdowns are currently coming in at more than 1,000 every hour and the busiest areas are South Wales, parts of the West Country and London.

Darron Burness, the AA’s Head of Special Operations, says: “Given the recent weather, some drivers may joke that the only thing that could make the roads any worse would be a plague of locusts!

"Unfortunately, this cold snap followed the second wettest year on record so, quite understandably, the roads are showing some ill-effects with a ‘pothole storm’ on the horizon.

“As the snow melts, the temptation is to drive that bit faster but you need to keep a look out for potholes and other hazards like flooding.

"Keep your speed down – particularly in rural areas where potholes are more likely – and take extra care in the rain as you don’t know whether it’s a puddle or pothole up ahead.

“We urge drivers to do a good deed and report potholes so councils can fix them and others don’t hit them – there are local authority helplines and online reporting systems available for this.”