New Year’s Day travel facing disruption amid wind, rain and snow warnings

Wind, rain and snow warnings are in force across parts of the UK, with the threat of flooding and disruption to New Year’s Day travel.

Large parts of England and Wales will be hit by strong winds until 3pm on Wednesday, while north-west England and Wales are forecast to see heavy rain for much of the morning.

Meanwhile, the start of London’s New Year’s Day Parade was delayed by 30 minutes due to high winds being forecast, and inflatable cartoon characters will no longer be used, event spokesman Dan Kirkby said.

More than 130 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, are in place for England, 10 for Wales and 32 for Scotland.

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Over the last 48 hours, some parts of the North West of England saw almost a month’s worth of rain, Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said.

Honister Pass in Cumbria saw nearly 6in (150mm) of rain, while Rochdale in Greater Manchester had 3in (77mm).

Mr Morgan said: “There’s still probably likely to be further flooding across the course of the day, I’m expecting further issues this afternoon.

“We are potentially expecting the flood situation to get worse before it gets better.”

The yellow wind warning means there is a chance of delays or cancellations to road, rail, air and ferry services as winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.

And a yellow warning for snow and ice is in force for northern Scotland until 9am on Thursday, as rain turning to snow is likely to lead to some travel disruption and difficult driving conditions on New Year’s Day, the forecaster added.

It comes after Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations, including street parties and fireworks, were cancelled due to safety concerns.

Firework displays in Blackpool, Newcastle, Ripon in North Yorkshire, and the Isle of Wight were also axed.

However, London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks event went ahead as planned.

Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service said it had been experiencing a high number of 999 calls due to flooding.

Train operator TransPennine Express urged customers not to travel before noon on Wednesday, saying flooding is causing “significant issues” in Greater Manchester and Cheshire.

The line was closed between Manchester Piccadilly and Warrington Central, with disruption expected until 11am, according to National Rail.

Disruption is also expected for trains between Manchester Airport and the city’s stations until midday, as well as routes between Manchester and Liverpool Lime Street.

Trains between Liverpool and Newcastle, Hull and Sheffield were being affected by flooding, as well as lines between Manchester Airport and Redcar Central, Manchester Victoria and Scarborough, and Manchester Piccadilly and York.

Services running between Manchester Piccadilly and Preston were also being disrupted due to flooding, which Network Rail said would disrupt services running between Manchester Piccadilly and Glasgow Central/Edinburgh.

National Highways said the westbound M56 between Junction 6 for Manchester Airport and Junction 7 for Bowdon is expected to be closed “for some time” due to flooding across all three lanes.

The M57 in Merseyside is closed in both directions between Junction 6 for Kirkby and Junction 7 for Switch Island, Aintree, due to flooding and the work to clear the water is expected to take some time.

And a section of the A628 Woodhead Pass between Woolley Bridge and Flouch is closed in both directions.

Other parts of the country were also seeing disruption with the M48 Severn Bridge closed in both directions due to high winds.

In Wales, Network Rail said the Conwy Valley Line between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Llandudno Junction will be closed throughout New Year’s Day because of fallen trees on the line and an assessment of the embankment.

The Far North Line in the Scottish Highlands is temporarily closed, while rail services between Dingwall and Inverness have been halted due to flooding.

Met Office forecaster Mr Morgan said there is expected to be widespread frost overnight, followed by a “particularly cold” couple of days, with the potential for widespread snow and disruption into the weekend.

Temperatures are set to be between 3C and 5C below average by day over the next few days, with a maximum of 5C-6C in the south, and the coldest spots expected to see minus 10C during the nights.