THE county is braced for gale force winds today as forecasters predict a day of heavy rain from 9am.

Officials have this morning said that water levels are continuing to rise on rivers in the county.

A yellow warning has been issued for Oxfordshire by the Met Office, with winds of up to 60mph possible.

Such gusts of up to 50mph are expected.

High winds toppled six trees overnight - all of them in South Oxfordshire or the Vale of White Horse. All have been cleared by county council highways crews.

The Environment Agency is warning that homes in Iffley and New Botley may be affected by floodwater today.

There are three flood warnings still in place in Oxfordshire, with heavy rain expected to fall throughout much of today.

A warning was issued for the New Botley, New and North Hinksey Area and Grandpont in Oxford and the Environment Agency has said the River Thames is rising very slowly in the Iffley and New Botley areas.

Two others are in place in the Henley area.

A spokesman for the Met Office said this morning: "Today, expect winds of up to 50mph with some heavy rain moving through and some showers will be heavier.

"There will be some accumulations of 20mm and there is a chance of some thunder and the wind will ease through the day.

"Tomorrow, not too bad at the start of the day, but as we head into the afternoon, more rain will be coming through, and although heaviest is in the south of the country, Oxfordshire will see 15-20mm of rain in the afternoon, with gusts of 20mph, and rain will continue overnight into Friday. 

"The rain will still be heavy and will ease as we head into the afternoon and there is a chance we will see some sunshine on Friday afternoon, but winds will be picking up again to about 30-35mph.
"But as we head into Saturday, overnight from Friday, there will be heavy rain again, wintery weather and wind again up to about 50mph
"And on Sunday it will be showery and provide a bit of respite before next week, when the weather will be unsettled again."

There are 12 road closures throughout the county, including the A417 West Hagbourne junction near Didcot, which was closed this morning.

The other road closures across the whole county are:

Lower Street, Islip
Road from A329 to Drayton St Leonard
Great Brook Road from Buckland Road to Chimney near Aston
Sandy Lane, Tiddington
Spring Lane, Playhatch
Grove Road, Harwell
Icknield Road, South Stoke from Grove Road to Woodcote Road
B4016 between Blewbury and East Hagbourne
High Street, Clifton Hampden
Road between Islip and Merton closed at Oddington
B478 Sonning Bridge