Fog to turn to snow and heavy rain as New Year weather warning issued
With the fog that has smothered the country over the Christmas period expected to lift soon the Met Office has warned of snow and heavy rain before the New Year.
The forecaster has issued two yellow weather warnings for Monday and Tuesday – with up to 140mm of rain, 20cm of snow and 60mph winds possible in the worst-affected areas during the run-up to New Year’s Eve.
The warning for snow and rain covers most of Scotland – which is braced for heavy downpours which may bring “significant disruption” in the build-up to Hogmanay.
A separate warning for wind in northern England on Monday has also been issued – with gusts of up to 60mph possible which may cause travel delays and power cuts.
The warning, in place from 11am to 6pm, covers areas including Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
The outlook towards New Year’s Eve is “unsettled” with blustery and wet conditions set to hit the north of the country with “less expansive” rain in the south.
From New Year’s Day, potentially disruptive wind, rain and snow could affect more southern parts of the UK.
Senior forecaster Craig Snell said: “We should see a brighter day across the UK.
“It could still be a bit dull to start across kind of the South East, especially, but as the day goes on, we should see some brighter, brighter weather develop even there.
“It’s not going to be wall-to-wall sunshine, but we certainly hopefully have lost a lot of the murk we’ve seen for the last day or so.”
The forecast comes as passengers at Gatwick faced delays on Saturday because of poor visibility due to fog - this is largely set to dissipate by Sunday afternoon.
However, Nats, the UK’s main air traffic control provider, said temporary air restrictions would remain in place until Sunday in areas with low visibility.
Sunday is expected to be Gatwick’s busiest day during the holiday period, with 769 flights planned.
Patches of thick fog could reduce visibility to just 100 metres in some areas, the Met Office said, as passengers have been advised to contact their airlines for updated information.
