Warnings of snow, wind and rain across the UK for New Year

Weather warnings have been issued for rain, snow and winds of up to 70mph for parts of the UK on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, the Met Office has said.

Yellow warnings are in place for wind, rain and snow for Northern Ireland, northern England and parts of Scotland from Tuesday.

By New Year’s Day the yellow weather warnings for rain, wind and snow extend across most of the UK.

The forecaster said there was likely to be travel disruption.

The warnings begin to come into force from 00:00 GMT on Monday and will last in some areas until 06:00 GMT on 2 January.

Following a period of heavy rain and some hill snow in Scotland on Monday, two areas of low pressure will bring unsettled conditions on both New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day and eventually lead to a cold plunge of air from the north and a drop in temperature.

On New Year’s Eve, there could be as much as 100-140mm (3.9- 5.5 inches) of rainfall in some parts of western Scotland which could lead to localised flooding. There could be some further snow in northern parts of the country too.

There will also be spells of rain across England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The rain looks particularly heavy in Wales.

While it will be windy everywhere it could be very blustery in the south of England as the new year is welcomed in.

The weather warnings in place across the UK include:

• In northern Scotland, a yellow warning for rain and snow from 00:00 GMT on Monday until midnight on Tuesday. A separate warning for snow is in place for the Orkney Islands from 05:00 GMT until midnight on Tuesday.
• Also on Tuesday, parts of northern England are covered by a yellow warning for wind from 07:00 GMT until 23:00 GMT. A separate wind warning covers Northern Ireland from 06:00 GMT until 19:00 GMT.
• On Wednesday, yellow warnings for snow come into force, covering Northern Ireland until midnight and parts of northern England until 03:00 GMT on Thursday.
• Also on Wednesday, a yellow warning for wind is in place for most of England from 09:00 GMT until 06:00 GMT on Thursday. A separate yellow warning for rain covers part of Wales from 09:00 GMT until 21:00 GMT.