Millions of Brits are set to be battered by rain in a weekend washout amid the fallout from Hurricane Gabrielle.

New weather maps from WXCharts, which uses met desk data, showed a band of rain sweeping eastwards over Northern Ireland before pushing into Scotland, northern England and parts of Wales. By 12pm on Saturday, about 5mm of rain is expected to fall on Belfast and the surrounding areas as well as the western coastal regions of Scotland.

Three hours later the band shifts further westward where it will continue to dump about 5mm with some 2mm falling in the Highlands. At 6pm, southern, western Scotland and parts of southwestern Wales will see 5mm of rainfall.

Thankfully, by Sunday, the worst of the rainfall will have passed beyond most of the country although there will be some scattered instances across all four countries that make up the UK. It comes as Europe braces for impact as Hurricane Gabrielle barrels toward the Iberian Peninsula.

Authorities in the Azores, Portuguese islands in the mid-Atlantic, ordered a limited shutdown and issued warnings to residents. Regional government leader José Manuel Bolieiro signed an order on Wednesday that required non-emergency public services to close until 6pm local time today.

Winds as high as 65 miles per hour have since moved across the islands and the hurricane has sparked heavy rainfall. The storm could continue to strengthen in the next few hours before it slams into the coast of Portugal on Sunday as forecast.

Meanwhile, the effects of the hurricane will be felt as far north as the UK. According to the Met Office, persistent rain will remain around Scotland before it moves toward England and Wales.

"Rain stays persistent across Scotland which can be heavy at times, and moves eastwards across Wales and England," the Met Office said in its Saturday forecast. "Sunny spells in the far south east but cloudier elsewhere."

In its Sunday to Tuesday forecast, it added: "Outbreaks of rain stalling over southern England on Sunday. Brighter skies to follow, with sunshine and scattered showers arriving on Monday. Tuesday remains similar with showers possible."

Relatively settled conditions are likely as we head into the end of the months and into early October. Cloudier conditions are expected in the northwest with outbreaks of rain and drizzle at times.

"Through the week while showers or perhaps longer spells of rain are possible for all areas at times, the wettest weather is likely to continue be focused on the northwest of the country," the Met Office said. "Any spells of windier weather are more likely in the northwest too."

Weekend washout as Brits to be battered by rain in Hurricane Gabrielle fallout - The Mirror