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Britons are bracing for snowfall and a sharp drop in temperatures which will hit below freezing in some areas on New Year’s Day.
Three weather warnings are in place across much of the UK, which is waking up on the first day of 2025 after multiple New Year’s Eve celebrations were cancelled due to rough weather – including Edinburgh’s Hogmanay.
Conditions aren’t set to improve at the start of the new year, with rain, wind and snow warnings covering much of Wales, the southern half of England and northern Scotland.
A snow and ice could cause “travel disruption and difficult driving conditions” across northern Scotland, with a yellow warning in place until 9am on Thursday as temperatures reach sub-zero on Wednesday evening.
The Met Office warns that a band of rain will turn to snow on Wednesday morning within the warning area, which stretches from Aviemore in central north Scotland to just short of Aberdeen on the east coast, Portree on the Isle of Skye and up towards Scotland’s north coast.
Up to 10cm of snowfall is possible in areas above 300m, with up to 3cm likely at low levels as the snow moves south on Wednesday morning. Snow showers will continue through the afternoon, overnight and into Thursday morning, the Met Office said.
This may lead to icy roads and pavements on Thursday with roads and railways likely to be disrupted and “injuries from slips and falls on icy surfaces” possible.
Temperatures will hit 0C in central and southern Scotland by late afternoon on Wednesday, before dropping below freezing in some areas later in the evening and reaching as low as -5C overnight.
Meanwhile, a yellow warning for rain will be in place for most of Wales and parts of north west England, Yorkshire and the Midlands until 11am on Wednesday morning, after an amber warning was lifted within the area at 9am on Wednesday.
A band of rain will move slowly across the region, with wind speeds reaching up to 60mph in some areas before the rain clears southwards later on Wednesday morning.
Some locations, particularly in north Wales could see more than 100mm of rain on Wednesday morning as around 30-50mm is expected more widely.
Fast flowing floodwater is possible and will cause a danger to life, the forecaster says, with homes and businesses at risk of flooding and power cuts possible.
Heavy rain may also lead to disruption in public transport and difficult driving conditions due to spray and flooding.
The entirety of southern England and most of the Midlands and Wales will also remain under a yellow weather warning for wind until 3pm, with a “small chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris”.
The strongest winds are expected on the coastal regions in the west and south of the warning area, the Met Office says, with gusts of up to 75mph possible.
Met Office deputy chief meteorologist Rebekah Hicks said: “A band of persistent and at times heavy rain will linger across Wales and northwest England through Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, before clearing southeast during Wednesday afternoon. This rain will be accompanied by strong and gusty winds.”
Thursday will see a cold snap strike the UK, remaining into the weekend. Temperatures will be sub-zero in parts of Scotland on Thursday, remaining roughly from 0 to 5C during the daytimes into the weekend.
The forecaster says: “Wintry showers are expected to affect the far north and east at times, but away from these, sunshine will be much more widespread than in recent days.
“Overnight temperatures will widely fall below freezing, perhaps reaching minus double digits in areas of Scotland already covered in snow.”
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