Flood alerts in place across UK as Met Office issues three-day snow warning

The Met Office has issued a three-day snow warning ahead of this weekend, as strong winds and rain lash much of the UK on New Year's Day.

A yellow warning for snow is in place from noon on Saturday until 9am on Monday, and covers all regions of England other than the south west. The majority of Wales and parts of southern Scotland will also be affected.

Schools could potentially be closed and there is a chance of power cuts and road closures as well as delays and cancellations to flights and trains, the Met Office said.

About 5cm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, with as much as 20-30cm over high ground in Wales and/or the Pennines, the forecaster added.

Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan cautioned that while there was a large snow warning in place, it "doesn’t mean that everywhere within that warning could see snow, it’s just a heads-up there could be some impacts."

“It’s definitely going to start off as snow in many places but it’s a question of how quickly that snow melts and turns back to rain, it’s more likely that the snow won’t last that long in southern England," he added.

Meanwhile, the first day of 2025 has brought wind, rain and snow warnings across parts of the UK, with the threat of flooding and disruption to New Year’s Day travel.

More than 120 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, are in place for England, 11 for Wales and 21 for Scotland on Wednesday.

Disruption is expected to continue into Thursday, as a yellow warning for snow and ice is in place covering northern Scotland until 10am, with rain turning to snow likely to lead to some travel disruption and difficult driving conditions, the Met Office said.

Meanwhile, a yellow warning for ice has been issued from 4pm on Wednesday until 10am on Thursday, covering Northern Ireland, parts of North Wales, England and Scotland, which could also lead to difficult travel conditions.

Greater Manchester Police declared a major incident on Wednesday as homes were evacuated and cars submerged because of widespread flooding.

Police said the worst affected areas were Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan.

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

In Stockport, residents living in a block of flats on the banks of the River Tame were left "trapped", with many needing to be rescued from their homes by emergency services after their building was surrounded by flood water.

In Didsbury, in South Manchester, a person had to be rescued and a car was submerged after sluice gates were opened at Fletcher Moss Park as the River Mersey recorded its highest ever level.

Over the last 48 hours, some parts of the North West of England saw almost a month’s worth of rain, according to the Met Office.

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

Forecasters warned high winds and rain may also cause flooding, particularly in the Midlands and Pennines, with the Environment Agency urging people to stay away from swollen rivers and avoid driving through floodwater.

In London, the start the New Years Day Parade was delayed by half an hour due to high winds, which also led organisers to ban the use of inflatable cartoon characters.

Rail disruption

A number of train routes have been disrupted or blocked by flooding, mainly in the North West of England, with some Northern services, TransPennine Express services, Transport for Wales services, and South Western Railway services affected.

TransPennine Express urged customers not to travel on several of its routes because of flooding.

Trains between Manchester and Chester are unable, and several routes are subject to cancellations and diversions.

Trains are able to run between Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly, however at a reduced service. National Rail have warned that trains may be cancelled or revised as a result.

Network Rail said services are unable to call at Mirfield station because of flooding at the station.

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

More disruption to rail travel is expected on Thursday.

Road closures

National Highways has listed road closures including a section of the A628 Woodhead Pass between Woolley Bridge and Flouch, the westbound M56 between Junction 6 for Manchester Airport and Junction 8 for Bowdon and the M57 in Merseyside between Junction 6 for Kirkby and Junction 7 for Switch Island, Aintree.

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