Wind and rain warnings in place for much of UK

Parts of the UK are set to be battered by wind and rain on the first day of 2025.

Yellow and amber warnings issued by the Met Office are in place for much of Wales and southern England into Wednesday morning.

Warnings for snow and ice in northern Scotland are also in place, while 109 flood warnings have been issued across the UK.

It comes after New Year’s Eve events across the country were cancelled due to expected bad weather – although celebrations in Manchester and London went ahead.

The Met Office said there was a “slight chance” of damage to buildings and power cuts, with gusts of up to 75mph possible.

The weather warnings in place across the UK include:

• An amber rain warning covering parts of North West England is in place until 09:00 on Wednesday
• A yellow warning for snow and rain covers the Highlands and Moray until 04:00 GMT on Wednesday
• A yellow warning for rain for much of Wales and north-west England is in force until 11:00 on Wednesday
• A yellow warning for snow and ice in the north of mainland Scotland is in force from 04:00 on Wednesday until 09:00 on Thursday
• A yellow warning of wind is in place for Wales and large parts of England is in place from 00:15 until 15:00 on Wednesday

In the Highlands, forecasters warned “blizzard conditions are possible”, especially in the far northern regions of Sutherland and Caithness.

The Environment Agency (EA) has issued 67 flood warnings in England, mostly concentrated in the North West.

There are also 10 flood warnings in place for north Wales and 32 warnings in place for Scotland.

The poor weather conditions are expected to cause travel disruption in parts of the country.

Transport for Wales and London North Eastern Railway warned some services could be delayed or cancelled at short-notice.

Northern Ireland’s Translink advised passengers to check online before travelling.

A number of routes in Scotland have been impacted because of speed restrictions, including Inverness services to Perth and the Kyle of Lochalsh; Perth to Stirling; and Edinburgh to Inverness.

Flooding is also causing disruption on Northern services running across parts of Yorkshire.

Despite the poor weather, thousands of people gathered along Embankment in the capital to see in the New Year with a fireworks display over the Thames at midnight on Wednesday.

Celebrations in Manchester also went ahead as planned, after its fireworks display was moved to the top of the city’s central library.

Hogmanay celebrations in Edinburgh were cancelled over public safety concerns, as were fireworks displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, the Isle of Wight and Ripon in North Yorkshire.

Hogmanay organisers, Unique Assembly, had previously apologised to international tourists who travelled to Edinburgh for the street party and midnight fireworks display.

Scotland’s Culture Secretary Angus Robertson said cancelling the festival was “undoubtedly” the correct decision.

The fireworks display in Blackpool was cancelled because of the expected high winds. The town’s other events, including a projection show to mark the start of 2025, went ahead.