Severe weather alerts could ruin New Year’s festivities with strong 75mph winds and the possibility of up to ten inches of snow causing ongoing travel delays

Britain is preparing for a severe storm on New Year’s Day, with weather warnings issued for heavy snow, strong winds, and torrential rain.

Forecasters are anticipating gusts of up to 70mph in the North, while snow is forecasted for Northern Ireland, northern England, and Scotland on New Year’s Day.

Travel disruptions are expected on New Year’s Eve, with ScotRail already implementing speed restrictions on train routes from Aberdeen to Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Separately, those using East Midlands Railway and Thameslink services to and from London St Pancras endured delays today due to a fault on a train at St Albans; while a broken down train at Surrey Quays also impacted London Overground journeys.

Almost every part of the UK is covered by at least one of nine separate weather warnings that have been issued by the Met Office between today and Thursday.

Scotland will be hit first by the turbulent weather, with ‘pulses of rain’ and snow today, while northern England will face blustery conditions including 60mph gusts.

A weather warning is in place today where strong winds could impact travellers between 11am and 6pm in areas including Durham, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

In southern England and Wales, highs of 10C (50F) to 12C (54F) are expected along with a calmer day overall, including ‘glimmers of sunshine’, the weather service said.

On New Year’s Eve, delays to all types of transport are ‘likely’ as strong winds persist and may reach speeds of up to 70mph in England and Northern Ireland.

An alert for wind is in place from 7am until 11pm tomorrow and covers most of Northern Ireland, including Londonderry, Tyrone, Antrim and Armagh, as well as just north of York in England up to Glasgow, Edinburgh and Greenock.

For those celebrating Hogmanay, heavy downpours and snowfall may cause ‘significant disruption’ across northern Scotland, with up to 140mm (5.5in) of rainfall today and tomorrow.

Up to 20cm (7.8in) of snow may blanket areas of higher ground while strong winds have the potential to ‘exacerbate impacts’, creating ‘blizzard conditions’ which could freeze powerlines.

Sky News meteorologist Christopher England said that the start of 2025 would bring a ‘multi-hazard storm, combining severe gales, heavy rain and possibly significant snow as the rain runs into cold air’.

This is not a named storm as it stands – but the next one will be Storm Éowyn, following on from Ashley on October 20, Bert on November 22, Conall on November 27 and Darragh on December 6. 

Another warning has been issued for ‘persistent snow’ likely to cause road disruption in Orkney and Shetland from 5am tomorrow onwards.

Senior Met Office forecaster Craig Snell said: ‘Moving into New Year’s Eve, another system moves in from the Atlantic, again, Scotland bearing the brunt of this one with some further heavy rain and snow and strong winds.

‘The winds also picking up for Northern Ireland and northern England through New Year’s Eve as well, with rain arriving into that part of the world – basically quite an unsettled last day of the year for the northern half of the UK.’

‘To the south, we will see some rain later on New Year’s Eve, but it shouldn’t cause too many problems, apart from if you’re out celebrating – you might get a bit damp.’

He added: ‘The main bit of advice from the Met Office over the coming days is, with the celebrations and people on the move throughout the new year and Hogmanay period, is the keep checking the forecast and to stay up to date with that.’

Those with travel plans should allow extra time for journeys and keep updated with flood alerts and warnings, Mr Snell said.

‘With the multiple hazards going on across the UK, I think we can probably expect some travel delays right across the UK,’ he added.

The A66 in Cumbria has reopened to high-sided vehicles after being closed for several hours due to strong winds while CalMac Ferries said services on the west coast of Scotland were cancelled or at risk of disruption.

The Isle of Man Steam Packet Company said it was monitoring conditions and sailings between Douglas and Heysham were at risk or disruption.

The New Year will be off to a turbulent start with separate weather warnings in place for snow, wind and rain on January 1.

Up to 25cm (9.8in) of snow could fall in the worst affected areas, including Central Tayside and Fife, the East Midlands, northern England and the Lothian borders.

Very strong winds of up to 60mph are forecast across the whole of England and Wales all day Wednesday and into Thursday morning, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.

The alert for wind is in place from 9am on Wednesday until 6am on Thursday.

Residents should prepare by checking for loose items outside their homes and planning how to secure them, the Met Office warned.

Temperatures on New Year’s Day are expected to reach between 10C (50F) to 12C (54F) in southern England with chillier conditions of around 5C (41F) to 7C (45F) further north.

The remainder of the week will be much colder, with widespread frost across the country predicted on Thursday night, the forecaster added. 

It comes as another 20 flights were cancelled at Gatwick today as restrictions remained in place for a fourth day because of fog after ‘frustrated’ passengers slept on the floor.

The flights planned for the West Sussex airport today were axed in advance, disrupting Christmas and New Year travel plans for thousands of travellers.

Passengers were also warned of delays throughout the day – with flights at the UK’s second busiest airport having been disrupted since Friday because of the weather.

Some spent the night on the floor waiting for news on their delayed or cancelled flight, amid complaints of a lack of information from airlines and the airport.

While the fog began to clear this morning, passengers faced a major knock-on effect today after more than 100 of yesterday’s 769 scheduled flights were cancelled.

Sunday was already due to be the hub’s busiest day of the Christmas holiday period, and the Met Office said patches of fog reduced visibility to 100 yards in some areas.