Hundred-mile-an-hour winds have battered parts of the UK as the latest wave of winter weather caused misery for commuters.

The Met Office reported winds of 101mph in Great Dunsell, Cumbria - the highest across the UK yesterday - while other exposed areas also recorded speeds well in excess of 70mph.

Snow and ice caused trouble on roads and railways yesterday, while the high winds have also triggered disruption this morning, with trees and flooding blocking the tracks.

Mark Wilson, forecaster with the Met Office, said conditions would improve from tomorrow for much of the country.

He said: "It was a very windy night across much of the UK.

"Most of the bad weather will be in the next 24 hours.

"There will be gusts of 70-80mph in exposed areas and high ground. Those are very strong winds and people should be aware of the winds when out walking.

"It is not exceptional for exposed areas at this time of year, but it is still very windy and there will be possible disruption to transport and power supplies."

The Environment Agency issued 149 flood alerts and 32 flood warnings across the whole country this morning.

In Wales, around 750 homes have been left without power due to strong winds. Four flood warnings are also in place for rivers in mid-Wales along with nearly 30 flood alerts.

The gale force winds and heavy rain come during a week of severe weather in the principality, which has included snow, giant hailstones and a tornado which hit Haverfordwest. Two people were taken to hospital after the whirlwind ripped roof sections of six homes.

Among the rail passengers held up by trees on the line were those in the West Malling area of Kent who were travelling in the morning rush-hour on Southeastern services between Ashford International and London Victoria/London Blackfriars.

Trees on the line also affected services at Gravesend in Kent, between Uckfield in Sussex and Oxted in Surrey, and between Paddock Wood and Maidstone West in Kent.

In Scotland the A9 was closed between Blair Atholl and Ralia for several hours, with some cars stuck.

Several roads in the Highlands were closed due to snow and there was bad flooding on the A9 at Auchterarder.

On the railways a train struck debris from a landslip near Dunning in Perthshire at around 11pm yesterday.

No ScotRail daytime trains were running between Perth and Inverness due to heavy overnight snow.

There will be no trains on the Helensburgh to Dumbarton Central route, the Kilwinning to Largs/Ardrossan service, the Kyle to Dingwall line or the Glasgow to Fort William/Mallaig/Oban route until around 6pm to allow Network Rail to check infrastructure.

In the Highlands 12 schools and nurseries were shut due to bad weather.

South West Trains said there were delays of up to half an hour between Bournemouth and Southampton due to flooding near Brockenhurst, while First Great Western and Cross Country services between Paignton in Devon and Manchester Piccadilly were held up due to a fallen tree.

Commuters passing through Dover Priory faced delays of up to 60 minutes owing to a tree on the line.

Flooding is also expected across much of Tayside, west central Scotland and south east England.

Kent Police warned it had implemented an emergency measure to back up freight traffic along the M20 near Dover in anticipation of severe weather and reduced capacity at the port as a result.

Officials said cross-Channel sailings were subject to delays because of the weather conditions.

Passengers were urged to allow plenty of time for their journey to the port, and drivers heading there should consider using alternative routes.

The latest weather blast follows fierce storms which left 120,000 properties without power in Scotland last week.

Cars were stuck and lorries jack-knifed on icy routes as snow, sleet and high winds swept the country yesterday.

The AA said it had rescued 57 vehicles and attended 8,200 breakdowns by mid-afternoon, reporting poor conditions in Scotland's central belt and north west England.

Darron Burness, from the AA's severe weather team, said: "The reality is that while you can have your car completely prepared for winter, you can't control what goes on around you. If there's an accident ahead or a lorry jack-knifes, you're probably not going anywhere in a hurry, so you need to be prepared for that."

The British Red Cross also urged people to prepare for adverse weather in the coming days.