Live blog: Storm Noa impacts UK and Ireland

Storm Noa, named by Météo France, is impacting the UK and Ireland. Stay up to date with us right here.

This deep area of low pressure that drove in spells of heavy rain on Tuesday night is now wrapping itself around the outside of the UK and Ireland, with inner bands of rain pushing into Wales, south-west England and the outskirts of Ireland.

This precipitation will be turning wintry over the hills, where there could be some minor accumulations across parts of Scotland, the Pennines and Welsh hills.

Strong winds through Wednesday too, with southern fringes of England, in addition to the south and west coast of Wales seeing peak gusts in excess of 60 or 65 mph. For Devon and Cornwall, and the west coast of Ireland, gusts could reach over 70 mph.

As this low tracks eastwards during Wednesday afternoon, thundery bands of rain will push in, bringing a risk of torrential downpours, thunder, lightning and hail, in addition to particularly gusty winds embedded within.

It might be nearly mid-April but the strength of the wind will deliver a bitter chill, so don't leave home without your coat today!

The winds and rain will then eventually ease off into the evening and overnight period, albeit for a concentrated area of strong winds across Merseyside, Lancashire and south-west Cumbria in particular.

There are currently 17 flood alerts issued across southern England with an additional 3 warnings covering the Central and Tayside regions of Scotland.

Some areas of Ireland and Wales have seen snowfall though this was short lasting and rain now dominates the scene.

Thunderstorms are expected Wednesday afternoon, particularly from midday in northern England. Watch lightning strikes as they happen on the LightningRadar!

Storm Noa has resulted in widespread power cuts, primarily across southern Wales and southwest England, while in Ireland hundreds of properties are without power in the south and along the exposed western coast.

Other areas have been impacted too, with over 17,000 properties losing power throughout the day across Lancashire and Cumbria. All but a few hundred of which have now been reconnected.

On the M62, news has emerged of an overturned HGV which was toppled by gusting winds as the system arrived Tuesday evening. There were minor injuries.