Parts of the UK will be battered by heavy downpours in a wet and cool start to the week, the Met Office has said.

Yellow weather warnings for rain have been issued by the forecaster across parts of southern England and south Wales on Monday night and in northern Scotland on Tuesday night.

The first warning, which is in force from 6pm on Monday until 3am on Tuesday, covers areas including Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Cardiff, Devon and Cornwall.

Most of the warning area will see around 20 to 40mm of rain, while areas such as Dartmoor and Exmoor could see up to 70mm.

Another yellow weather warning for rain has been issued across northern Scotland, with up to 90mm of rainfall expected in the worst affected areas from 10pm on Tuesday until 11.59pm on Wednesday.

The Met Office said those in the affected areas, including Angus, Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands, should expect some communities to be cut off by flooded roads, difficult driving conditions because of flooding and spray, and fast flowing or deep floodwater which could cause a danger to life.

Delays and cancellations to public transport should also be expected, the forecaster said.

Showers and sunny spells are expected across the north of the UK on Monday and Tuesday with heavier rain due to set in on Wednesday in the north east of England and in southern and east Scotland, according to the Met Office.

Brighter weather is forecast in southern England towards the beginning of the week but the risk of heavy showers still persists in some areas, the forecaster said.

Andrea Bishop, spokesperson for the Met Office said: “The first half of this week is unsettled – wet and cool is a trend to hopefully some better conditions by the weekend, although you’ve still got sort of sunny spells but with showers in places.”