A man died after falling into the sea and roads and schools were closed as winds of up to 85mph battered parts of the UK.
The man who died was pulled out of the wind-whipped water off the seafront at Torquay in Devon by an RNLI crew on Tuesday evening but he could not be saved. He was the second person to die off the Devon coast after the body of a Brixham fisherman was found earlier in the week.
In parts of Scotland, police advised motorists not to travel unless absolutely necessary and closed a number of routes including the Churchill Barriers, four causeways in the Orkney Islands.
Some schools were also shut on Orkney while sailings between several of the Scottish islands were cancelled because of the high winds.
Inspector Robbie MacDonald, of the Northern Constabulary, said: "I would encourage members of the public not to travel unless it is necessary and to have provisions in their homes for possible power cuts.
"If travel is essential the public should avoid exposed or coastal areas, where gusts could cause significant harm to individuals. Taking measures to secure items outside properties such as garden furniture and scaffolding, and checking in on elderly neighbours to ensure they have all the necessary provisions, is also encouraged."
The Met Office said the strongest winds on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning were felt in the Scottish Western Isles, where gusts of up 85mph were measured. There were gusts of up to 70mph in west Wales and the Isle of Wight and up to 60mph more widely.
Overnight on Wednesday a narrow band of squally weather is expected to sweep in from the west and it is due to be windy again on Thursday. By Friday there could be a spell of snow on some Welsh mountains and in the Pennines and it is due to turn chilly again on Saturday.
In England and Wales the Environment Agency continued to warn property owners to beware of flooding.
By lunchtime on Wednesday almost 50 flood warnings – meaning flooding is expected – were in place, most of them for the Midlands and the south-west of England. In addition, more than 170 alerts – meaning flooding is possible – had been issued.
The agency is concerned that major rivers including the Severn and the Lower Exe continue to swell following the heavy rain earlier this week and the snow melt.
