See what the weather will be like where you live for New Year’s Eve as storm fears force fireworks displays to be scrapped across the UK.
London‘s City Hall has said it is ‘monitoring the weather’ ahead of the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations after some of Edinburgh‘s Hogmanay festivities were cancelled due to bad weather.
Separately, Blackpool Council confirmed it had taken the ‘tough decision’ to cancel its fireworks due to the winds, but a projection show set to music will still take place.
Last year, many NYE firework displays were also cancelled in places like Brighton due to the bad weather.
And in the Netherlands, they have lit the New Year’s Eve fireworks and bonfire a day early due to the stormy weather forecast.
Almost every part of the UK is covered by at least one of the multiple Met Office weather warnings between Monday and Wednesday.
Stormy conditions are expected to spread to the rest of the UK on New Year’s Eve, with yellow warnings for wind and rain in place for parts of England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
On Monday afternoon, organisers announced outdoor events at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations on Monday and Tuesday would be cancelled, including the street party and concert in Princes Street Gardens – due to be headlined by Scottish band Texas – and the midnight fireworks.
Fireworks explode around the London Eye during New Year’s celebrations in London last year
A woman holds onto her umbrella in Edinburgh as the city faces wet and windy weather
A spokesperson for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay said: ‘Due to ongoing high winds and inclement weather in Edinburgh city centre, we regret to announce that outdoor events scheduled for Monday and December 31 are unable to go ahead on the grounds of public safety.
‘The cancellation includes tonight’s Night Afore Disco Party in West Princes Street Gardens and, on December 31, Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party, Concert in the Gardens and the midnight fireworks from Edinburgh Castle.
‘We have been unable to continue with preparations and necessary set-up for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay outdoor events due to extreme weather and forecast conditions. Therefore, for safety reasons, we, along with our event partners, have taken the difficult decision to cancel all outdoor events.’
The spokesperson said indoor events are continuing as planned.
It is understood there are currently no plans to cancel any New Year’s Eve events in London, but a spokesperson for the mayor confirmed local authorities were continuing ‘to monitor the weather forecast closely’.
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, the Met Office has warned.
A yellow warning for rain and snow is in place across Scotland until midnight on Wednesday, while an amber warning for rain comes into force for Moray and Highland first thing on Tuesday until 5pm.
Aviemore and nearby areas in the Highlands are also bracing for extensive river flooding on Tuesday morning, with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issuing a rare sever flood warning of ‘danger to life’ after a night of continuous rain.
Parts of northern England are covered by a yellow warning for wind from 7am until 11pm on New Year’s Eve, with a separate wind warning covering Northern Ireland from 6am until 2pm.
London’s City Hall has said it is ‘monitoring the weather’ ahead of the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations. Pictured is the display last year
A yellow warning for snow will be in place from 5am until midnight in Orkney and Shetland.
A 24-hour yellow warning for rain will also come into force across much of Wales and north-west England from 6pm on Tuesday.
Met Office meteorologist Craig Snell said: ‘It will be a tricky couple of days and a wet and windy spell for many up into the new year.
‘We’re encouraging anyone who is planning to travel to keep up to date with the weather forecast and news from their local authorities.’
The new year will be off to a turbulent start with separate weather warnings in place for wind and rain on January 1.
Winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.
Scotland’s world-famous Hogmanay party was axed last night as the country braces for ‘extreme’ torrential rain, high winds and flooding.
The organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay took the decision to abandon this year’s outdoor festivities on the grounds of public safety as forecasters issued dire warnings that winds of up to 70mph are set to sweep in today.
A view of partially obscured Houses of Parliament, Big Ben, and Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges as thick fog descends on London on December 29
A woman’s hair is blown across her face as people walk in strong winds in Edinburgh
Workers try to repair a fence today, damaged by high winds at Edinburgh Christmas Market
Met Office chiefs also said more than five inches of rain could fall by the end of the day and heavy snow could hit the north of the country, where a ‘risk to life’ amber weather warning was issued.
Last night the Scottish Government held an emergency meeting amid a raft of weather alerts, with Home Affairs Secretary Angela Constance warning of challenging conditions.
Large parts of the country were told to brace for flooding as rising water levels are poised to threaten lives and property.
And as the torrential rain headed towards Scotland yesterday the Met Office moved to issue yellow and amber warnings for rain, snow and wind. Before the worst of the conditions even arrived, organisers of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay shindig cancelled the event over fears for the safety of revellers.
Jane Meagher, leader of City of Edinburgh Council, said: ‘This decision was not taken lightly, however, with the ongoing adverse weather conditions, public safety must be our number one priority.’
Those making their way to festivities elsewhere could see their journeys disrupted not just by the weather as it was announced that some cross-Border rail services will be hit by strike action amid a row over rest-day working.
Cars driving in foggy conditions on the M20 near Folkestone in Kent on December 29
Drivers travel along a foggy road in the Oxfordshire countryside at Dunsden
The City of London skyline is obscured by fog in the capital on a very misty day
The New Year’s Eve bonfire and fireworks on The Hague beach in Scheveningen are lit a day early due to a stormy weather
And in the Netherlands, they lit the New Year’s Eve fireworks and bonfire a day early due to the stormy weather forecast
The miserable Hogmanay conditions have been caused by an area of low pressure quickly being replaced by another powerful weather system.
There are four separate warnings for Scotland today, with an amber alert covering parts of the southern Highlands and Moray until 5pm. There is a yellow warning for rain and snow covering much of the rest of Scotland, in place until midnight, and a yellow alert for wind across southern Scotland from 7am to 11pm.
A yellow warning for snow is in place until midnight for Orkney.
Ms Constance was due to chair a meeting of the government’s Resilience Room last night because of the ‘significant amount of rainfall’ which raised the ‘risks of travel disruption and flooding’.
Thousands of people who were planning to celebrate the New Year at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay Street Party were left scrambling to find alternative plans.
Strong winds had already led to the last-minute cancellation of the city’s Torchlight Procession on Sunday, but yesterday organisers cancelled all outdoor events. Texas had been due to headline the Concert in the Gardens for the third time, with fireworks set to light up the capital at midnight.
But a spokesman for Edinburgh’s Hogmanay said: ‘We have been unable to continue with preparations for outdoor events due to extreme weather and forecast conditions. For safety reasons we, along with our event partners, have taken the difficult decision to cancel all outdoor events.’
Edinburgh’s Hogmanay was cancelled in 2006 because of stormy weather, and in 2003 it was called off just an hour before midnight due to gale-force winds, snow and rain.
Oli Claydon, of the Met Office, warned that in the 48 hours before midnight tonight as much as 5.5 inches of rain could have fallen in parts of Scotland and more than seven inches of snow in other areas.
People in the fog at St Michael’s Tower on top of Glastonbury Tor in Somerset
In the Central Belt and southern Scotland – covered by the yellow alert for wind – he warned of 50-60mph winds and gusts of 70mph in the most exposed locations.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issued a series of flood alerts and warnings.
It said in the worst-affected areas possible impacts were ‘danger to life and damage to buildings’.
Sepa last night added three severe flood warnings in the north east for Sluggan to Dulnain Bridge, Kincraig to Inverdruie, and Aviemore to Grantown.
It warned: ‘Very high river levels are forecast in the early hours. Extensive river flooding is highly likely, increasing the risk to life.’
Yesterday, bad weather had already hit the transport system, with flooding forcing the Highland Main Line at Kingussie to close.
Douglas Cairns, Traffic Scotland operator manager at Transport Scotland, said the severe weather this week would ‘unfortunately cause some disruption’.
Mr Cairns added: ‘Road, rail, air and ferry services are all likely to be affected, with localised flooding, longer journey times and cancellations possible.
‘The network is also expected to be busy as people travel to celebrate New Year. We are asking travellers to plan their journeys before setting off to ensure they reach their destination and celebrations in good time.’
Once the current low-pressure system moves out, Scotland will start to be hit by freezing Arctic air. Mr Claydon said: ‘Things are turning much colder by Wednesday afternoon.
‘We will start to see frequent snow showers moving in, particularly across northern Scotland and around the coasts where we could see snow accumulate through the end of the week.’
Mr Claydon said there will be ‘a much colder feel as we move into 2025’.