Met Office issues New Year's Eve weather warning with 75mph gusts forecast

29 December 2023 , 11:25

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The New Year's Eve weather map (Image: Met Office)

Brits planning New Year's Eve celebrations are being urged to travel today to avoid weather chaos as the Met Office issues new warnings.

Conditions across many parts of the UK could feel close to freezing as the clock strikes midnight.

The first weather of 2024 is expected to remain unsettled with further strong winds and heavy rain as the New Year gets started. A yellow weather warning for wind covering parts of Wales and the east of England has been issued and will come into force between 11am on Saturday, December 30 and 3am on Sunday, December 31.

A spell of strong and gusty winds will move east across England and Wales, bringing some disruption to travel and services, the Met Office has said. Another yellow weather warning, this time for rain, has been issued covering Wales between 10am and 6pm on Saturday, December 30 which may lead to flooding and transport disruption.

A yellow weather warning for rain will also come into effect at 4am on Saturday, December 30 for Northern Ireland, due to be in force until 11am the same day. The fresh warnings come on the heels of a Storm Gerrit, which caused destruction in parts of the country. Hundreds of homes in Scotland remain without power as the post-storm clean up begins, but electricity bosses are "very confident" that the remaining 750 properties will be reconnected today. Thousands of properties in Ceredigion were also without power on yesterday after lightning struck supplies in Wales.

Gales, snow and rain to batter country today with 80mph wind gusts

Three men died after a 4x4 became trapped in the River Esk, North Yorks, yesterday (Lee McLean / SWNS)

Train passengers with tickets for December 31 were told to use them today on Northern rail and warned anyone using the rail service the day after should "expect disruption".

Cross Country said their services may be "subject to last-minute cancellations" as LNER, Avanti West Coast and London Northwestern Railway told passengers to check before they travel.

The Met Office said its Irish counterpart, Met Eireann, could name another storm - Storm Hank - as a "deep area of low pressure" pushes strong winds across the Republic of Ireland on Saturday. Meteorologist Alex Burkill said Saturday is going to turn "wet and windy" across the UK with a band of "intense rain" pushing its way eastwards and north-eastwards to bring a risk of gales and possibly "severe gales" in exposed spots.

Damaged houses are seen in the Stalybridge area of Greater Manchester (AP)

In a forecast video, Mr Burkill said northern areas as well as high ground areas in Scotland are likely to see "significant snow", with possibly 10 to 20cm of snow building up on the highest grounds. "There's a potential for some snow accumulations, even as low as perhaps 100m up, we could see some slushy snow, so likely to see some travel disruption again, because of the wind, the rain and some snow like we've seen over some recent days," he said.

Blustery and showery conditions are set to continue into Sunday, with the heaviest and most frequent rainfall across western parts of the UK. And the mercury is expected to drop on Sunday. Mr Burkill said: "As we look towards the end of the day on New Year's Eve, and the blustery showery theme does continue, some of those showers should start to ease as we head towards midnight.

Flooding as the River Severn bursts its banks in Tewkesbury (Emma Trimble / SWNS)

"So perhaps a bit more drier weather around, some clearer skies but do watch out for those showers and you will also want to wrap up quite warm because although it hasn't been particularly chilly recently, when you factor in those strong blustery winds, it's going to feel close to freezing for many places. So definitely a chilly feel to things as the clock strikes midnight."

New Year's Day should turn drier for many, particularly across more central southern parts of England and across Scotland with the "central slice" of the UK most likely to have showery rain. "As we look through the rest of the first week of 2024 and at the moment Tuesday looks like it'd be a largely dry day with some fine weather around before the return to something more unsettled - some heavy rain, some strong winds, and that does bring the potential for something a little bit colder and possibly wintry," Mr Burkill said.

Kelly-Ann Mills