A new Amber Alert for heavy rain was issued for parts of the UK on Wednesday (January 1), as wet and windy weather elsewhere in England led to the cancellation of New Year’s Eve celebrations.
The change of year did not spare the British. England was forced to cancel New Year’s Eve celebrations due to particularly wet and windy weather. In this context, a new orange alert was issued this Wednesday in certain regions of the United Kingdom, largely impacted by bad weather.
Outdoor events planned for December 31 in Scotland, Edinburgh, did not take place. A spokesperson said events in the Scottish capital’s city centre, including the castle fireworks, cannot take place ‘for reasons of public safety’ due to ‘high winds and storms’. ‘bad weather’. Separately, organizers of a fireworks display planned in Blackpool, a town in northwest England, also canceled the festivities due to weather conditions.
More bad news arrived on Tuesday evening when the weather service issued an orange alert for rain for an area from Preston to Bradford in the north. It is in effect from 8 p.m. until Thursday morning.
“Persistent and at times heavy rain will continue through the night before dissipating southward Wednesday morning,” forecasters said. “Rainfall of 40-50mm is expected quite widely, with 50-100mm on west-facing hills. It is possible that a few places will see more than 100 mm,” they added.
Disturbances in Scotland
Almost every part of the UK is covered by at least one of the Met Office’s many weather warnings. Another fireworks display in Ripon, North Yorkshire, also succumbed to bad weather, with the town council posting on Facebook that the planned event in the town’s market square could not go ahead due to windy weather violent.
A craft boat race in Poole in Dorset (south-west), a sea swim in Lyme Regis in the same county on the south coast, as well as fireworks on the Isle of Wight and on the quay of Newcastle, were all canceled on Tuesday morning. Although London City Hall said it was “monitoring the weather”, Mayor Sadiq Khan decided to keep the fireworks going for New Year’s Eve.
Three weather warnings are in Scotland alone for Wednesday, including a yellow warning for ‘snow’. A yellow warning for wind extends from Glasgow to Edinburgh, and the Met Office has warned of possible delays to road, rail, air and ferry transport. Train operator ScotRail warned its services were being disrupted by speed restrictions due to “very heavy rainfall”. At least 11 lines were affected, according to the ScotRail website, and 18 trains were canceled on Tuesday.
Strong winds are forecast across much of England and Wales until 3pm on January 1, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office. The period from Thursday to Saturday is expected to be “mostly cold but sunny, with wintry showers mainly confined to coastal areas.” Northern areas could see scattered rain and snow settling in on Saturday.
