Heavy rain and snow to hit New Year’s Eve festivities, Met Office warns
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Travel disruption expected as forecaster issues weather warnings for almost all of UK from Monday to Thursday. Revellers could see their New Year’s Eve plans curtailed or cancelled as heavy rain, snow and strong winds are forecast to hit the UK, causing travel disruption for most of this week.
The Met Office issued multiple yellow weather warnings for Monday to Thursday, with almost all of the country affected by at least one alert. Gusts of up to 70mph may lead to travel disruption in England and Northern Ireland on 31 December, the forecaster said.
A warning for wind on Monday is in place for parts of Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire. More of the north-east and Cumbria is expected to be affected on Tuesday, as well as southern parts of Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, and most of Northern Ireland.
Hogmanay celebrations are at risk, with warnings for rain and snow in place across most of Scotland on Monday and Tuesday. Heavy downpours and snowfall may cause “significant disruption” and up to 20cm of snow could fall on higher ground, while strong winds could “exacerbate impacts”, creating blizzard conditions and icing power lines, the Met Office said.
The organisers of Edinburgh’s famous Hogmanay street party said preparations were well under way and the event was still on course to go ahead as planned. “Ahead of the big night there are some unsettled periods of weather and we are working round the clock to ensure event preparations and contingency plans are in place,” a spokesperson said.
