London weather: 50mph gusts to hit capital on New Year's Day amid UK travel chaos
Share:
London was bracing for 50mph gusts on New Year’s Day as wind and rain sparked travel disruption in the UK. The Met Office was predicting strong winds for the capital throughout the morning as the start of 2025 brings stormy conditions to the country.
![[Fireworks explode over the London Eye Ferris wheel, in London,]](https://static.standard.co.uk/2025/01/01/6/24/Fireworks-explode-over-the-London-Eye-Ferris-wheel-in-London-65prenjy.jpeg?quality=75&auto=webp&width=960)
Gusts of up to 54mph were forecast in London on Wednesday morning. It comes after 100,000 revellers braved the weather to watch a spectacular New Year fireworks display over the Thames. A yellow weather warning is in place for the capital until 3pm, which could pose problems for people heading out to watch London’s New Year’s Day parade and festival, headlined by Peter Andre.
North-West England was bearing the brunt of the rain on Wednesday morning, although Met Office weather warnings were in place across large parts of England, Wales and Scotland. An amber alert was in place for North-West England until 9am with the Met Office saying heavy rain had fallen across the region for several hours.
The forecaster said it was expected to affect parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire for a few hours. The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District. It states that heavy rainfall is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain.
Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service said it had been experiencing a high number of 999 calls due to flooding. TransPennine Express urged customers on its services not to travel before noon on Wednesday, saying flooding was causing “significant issues” in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.
