The UK will face winds speeds of up to 70mph as a yellow weather warning comes into force for large parts of the country.
The Met Office said yellow warnings for wind, which came into force at 7am on Saturday, are expected to remain in place until 9pm on Sunday.
Warnings remain in place for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England the warnings cover the north-east, north-west, south-west and West Midlands as well as Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Hampshire.
Due to the high winds, the Met Office warned of dangerous coastal conditions.
Away from the wind, large parts of the country will see a mix of sunny spells throughout Sunday, the Met Office said.
A cold snap this weekend means showers in north-west Scotland could turn into several centimetres of snow on Saturday night, forecasters said.
Some snow could fall on the high ground in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, the Met Office added.
The best of the weather will be in the south-east of England, particularly East Anglia.
Temperatures will range between 6-7°C throughout Sunday for most of the UK before falling to 5°C for many areas early on Monday morning.
The wind conditions are to ease across the country later in the evening before a band of rain arrives across western Scotland, Northern Ireland, the south-west of England and parts of Wales.
This comes as Heathrow airport announced a “small number of flights” had been cancelled due to “strong winds and airspace restriction” and British Airways said disruption was likely to continue throughout the weekend.
A spokesperson for the airline said: “Due to adverse weather this weekend, restrictions have been put on the number of flights able to take off and land at Heathrow and therefore we’ve had to make a small number of cancellations.
“We’re offering free flight changes for those customers booked on short-haul services who don’t wish to travel this weekend, and we will be offering rebooking and refund options as always to those whose journeys are disrupted as a result of the restrictions.
“While the vast majority of our customers will travel as planned, our teams are working hard to help those who have been affected get their travel plans back on track at this important time of year.”
P&O Ferries said journeys between Larne and Cairnryan have been cancelled until at least 8pm on Sunday.
CalMac, which operates ferry services on Scotland’s west coast, said 29 of its 30 routes were either cancelled or affected by disruption on Sunday.
Rail operator ScotRail announced that speed restrictions would be in place for part of the route between Glasgow and Oban/Mallaig, and the Inverness service to Kyle/Wick.
The AA predicted 21.3 million drivers will hit the road on Sunday while 22.7 million had been expected on Saturday, slightly fewer than the 23.7 million on Friday which was expected to be the busiest day on the roads since the group’s records began in 2010.
A spokesperson said “if the congestion wasn’t enough of a headache, the inclement weather could create the perfect storm”.
“We advise those heading out to allow extra time to travel and increase the distance between themselves and other road users.”
The RAC estimated seven million leisure trips would be made on major roads during the weekend, which excludes everyday traffic.
It predicted that congestion hotspots will be on both directions of the M1 to Gatwick via the M25 and the M23; Liverpool to Chester on the M53; Oxford to the south coast via the A34 and the M3; the M25 to the south coast along the M3; and at the Taunton to Almondsbury Interchange in Bristol heading down the M5.
Additional reporting from the wires.
