The new year is officially here but we still haven’t managed to shift the wet, blustery weather many of us saw out 2024 in, with no fewer than four weather warnings in place today
Apparently the weather doesn’t care we’ve entered a new year full of optimism and hope for a clean slate. Then again, January has never been known for its calm and settled conditions so should we really be surprised?
Following the forecast for dangerously high winds which forced the cancellation of Edinburgh’s epic Hogmanay celebrations last night, the Met Office has issued four warnings – three yellow and the most worrying, one amber.
Rain is expected to be so heavy in the north west of England, Met Office advises residents in affected areas to prepare a flood kit. The weather map shows the worst of it to somehow swerve Manchester and Liverpool yet reach almost as north as Lancaster and as far south as west of Sheffield. The amber warning covers parts of Blackburn with Darwen, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Derbyshire, North Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and West Yorkshire.
The Met Office warns: “Persistent and, at times heavy, rain will continue overnight before clearing southwards on Wednesday morning. 40-50 mm rain is expected fairly widely, with 50-100 mm across west-facing hills. There is a chance a few locations could see in excess of 100 mm.”
The affects of the amber warning include the following:
- Spray and flooding probably leading to difficult driving conditions and some road closures
- Fast flowing or deep floodwater is likely, causing danger to life
- Homes and businesses are likely to be flooded, causing damage to some buildings
- A good chance some communities will be cut off by flooded roads
- Delays and some cancellations to train and bus services are likely
- Power cuts and loss of other services to some homes and businesses likely
Meanwhile the entire south of England, Wales and up to the midlands is clouded in a yellow warning for wind. At the time of writing yours truly is hearing his kitchen air vent take a real battering from the wind in Essex. And with the warning in place until 3pm today, I better get used to it.
Much of poor Wales can’t catch a break with not one but two yellow warnings overlapping each other as the country is also set for buckets of rain in the same wave that stretches all the way up to North Yorkshire. This warning is in place until 11am.
Finally, a yellow warning for ice and snow in the north of Scotland won’t be budging until tomorrow afternoon.
Met Office says: “A band of rain will turn increasingly to snow at low levels as it moves south Wednesday morning, then clearing to snow showers in the afternoon, which will continue overnight and through to Thursday morning. 1-3cm are likely at low levels with 5-10cm above 300m, leading to difficult driving conditions and some travel disruption.”
For more incredible stories from the Daily Star, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters