About 60 flights have been cancelled at London's Heathrow Airport due to the severe storm expected to hit. WINDS of up to 150km/h have been recorded on the Isle of Wight as Atlantic storm St Jude begins to roll over Britain. The worst storm in several years is forecast to hit the UK today, bringing heavy rain, hurricane-force gusts and the expectation of flooding and transport disruption. Millions of commuters were warned "not to travel unless necessary" as emergency services prepared for the 145kmh winds predicted to hit southern England during the morning's rush hour. There were reports of cars being hit by trees felled by strong winds in Sussex. A 174kmh gust was recorded on the Scilly Isles. Three of Britain's key river crossings - two main bridges over the River Severn and the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, which carries part of the M25 - are expected to close because of expected high winds. The Newhaven all-weather Seven Class lifeboat battles rough seas in the search for a 14-year-old boy dragged out to sea by large waves and strong currents. Gusts of 150km/h were recorded at the Needles on the Isle of Wight at 1.37pm (AEST) as the storm - dubbed St. Jude and #Stormageddon on social networks - approached the coast. Rescue called off Earlier, a 14-year-old boy was swept out to sea after playing in rising surf with friends. Rescue services abandoned a five-hour search for the boy off Newhaven, East Sussex, because of darkness and the rough weather. One of the search personnel was injured when thrown to the deck of a search boat by a wave. Rainfall associated with storm St Jude over Britain at noon AEST. Picture: WeatherUnderground The boy was reportedly caught in strong currents while swimming off West Beach. It is believed he was one of a group of boys seen "playing chicken" with the waves shortly before the emergency was raised. A friend he was swimming with was reportedly able to make the shore. Sussex police have closed nearby roads and warned residents of "imminent serious weather." Britain battens-down Airline workers have been briefed winds of up to 140km/h could last until midday at Heathrow and other airports. Members of the public brace the stormy weather conditions in Brighton, UK. Engineers have warned that they will be unable to open aircraft cargo hatches or operate walkways used to offload passengers in winds of more than 80km/h. Airlines are believed to be making plans to divert planes to airports in the north of the UK if necessary. As winds picked up and Britain prepared for the storm, major sports events such as a regular NFL game in London between the San Francisco 49ers and Jacksonville Jaguars at Wembley Stadium kicked off regardless. Picture: Leon Neal Government warnings Prime Minister David Cameron told government agencies to ensure that contingency plans are made for transportation, schools and power supplies during the storm, which could have gusts stronger than130km/h - akin to those in cyclones. The Met Office national weather centre warned of falling trees, damage to buildings and disruption to power supplies and transport when the full force of the storm hits this afternoon Australian time. Martin Young, the Met Office's chief forecaster, said that while the storm is "major" for the UK, its winds are not expected to be as strong as those seen in the ``Great Storm of 1987, which saw gusts of 185km/h and left 18 people dead. Between 20 and 40mm of rain is predicted to fall within six to nine hours, with a chance of localised flooding. A flood warning map for Britain as of 11.30am AEST Source: Supplied It will be followed by widespread gusts up to 110km/h across southern England and south Wales today, with winds reaching more than 140km/h an hour in some areas, forecasters say. The Met Office issued an "amber" wind warning for the region, the third highest in a four-level scale, and urged people to delay their Monday morning journeys to work to avoid the worst of the bad weather. Transport chaos Ahead of today's storm, Heathrow Airport warned travelers to expect delays. Rail networks canceled many trains preemptively up through Monday morning, citing the high risk of trees and other debris expected to fall on train lines. London's rush-hour looked set to be chaotic after train companies First Capital Connect, C2C, Greater Anglia, Southern and Gatwick Express services all said they would not run services today until it was safe to do so. That is likely to be after 8pm AEST, according to forecasts. Major airports also warned of disruption to flights with London-hub Heathrow expecting approximately 30 cancellations. On an average day, 1,288 flights operate at Heathrow. Cross-channel train service Eurostar said it would not be running trains for the immediate future, meaning delays to early services. Several ferry operators said they had cancelled some cross-Channel services and Irish Sea crossings. Fearing the worst Prime Minister David Cameron received an update from officials on contingency planning in a conference call on Sunday, amid fears of similar damage wrought by the "Great Storm" of October 1987. That left 18 people dead in Britain and four in France, felled 15 million trees and caused damages worth more than $A1.69 billion. This year's storm has been named St Jude after the patron saint of lost causes, whose feast day is on today. It is likely to affect northern France before heading off towards Denmark, forecasters said.