Coastal areas are being warned to brace themselves for strong winds later this week, with gusts of 80mph possible along exposed parts of the coastline.

The Met Office has released two yellow weather warnings for wind on Wednesday and Thursday.

The Wednesday warning is for a very unsettled spell of weather, with strong winds from 9am until 9pm.

Winds are expected to increase from the far southwest early on Wednesday, spreading northeast, with areas adjacent to the Irish Sea most exposed to the south to southeasterly wind.

Wind gusts of 60mph are expected, with a few, more exposed, locations seeing 70mph gusts.

Then on Thursday between 3am and 3pm, there is the chance that an intense weather system could travel quickly across western Wales, with the potential for gust of up to 80mph along exposed coastlines.

A spokesperson for the Met Office said: "This would also bring some rough seas, large waves and possible local coastal impacts.

"There is significant uncertainty over how severe this system will be, but a wet and windy day is expected regardless.

"There is a small chance of delays to public transport and some exposed bridges and roads could close.

"There is a slight chance of some damage to buildings, such as tiles blown from roofs. There is also the slight chance that power cuts may occur, with the potential to affect other services such as mobile phone coverage."

SP Energy Networks, the electricity distributor for north Wales, said it is always working to ensure its electricity networks’ resilience to help reduce the chance of power loss during extreme weather.

Stephen Stewart, SP Energy Networks’ distribution director, has given his advice on what north Wales residents should do in the event of a power cut in severe storms, as well as his top tips on preparing for an emergency power situation.

He said: “Although power cuts are rare for most people, during storms like this they become more likely. Storm Diana is set to hit north Wales with force so it’s important that our customers are prepared for a power cut, just in case.

“Our engineers always work to increase the resilience of the network and they are on hand 24/7 to be in your area in the event of any power outages caused by extreme weather. You can report any power outages to us by calling the national 105 emergency helpline or SP Energy Networks’ emergency helpline on 0800 001 5400.”