Heavy rain, wind and snow is set to scupper the New Year’s Eve plans of millions.
Thousands of events are at the mercy of a slew of warnings as Britain braces itself for weather and travel chaos.
The Met Office has issued multiple yellow alerts until Thursday, with almost all of the UK affected.
It said fierce gusts of up to 70mph could spark widespread disruption in England and Northern Ireland ahead of a brutal week.
Chief forecaster Andy Page said the outlook for the week was “very complicated” adding: “Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week.
“With such a varied and complex weather situation, there is potential for the pattern of warnings to shift and possibly escalate in some areas.
“With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.”
Much of the north-east and Cumbria is expected to be affected tomorrow, as well as southern parts of Scotland, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, and most of Northern Ireland.
As much as 25cm of snow is set to fall over hills with significant drifting due to strong winds on Wednesday in a blast that might bring “significant disruption”. Snow is likely as far south as Derbyshire as a cold wind sweeps in from the Arctic.
The Met Office ominously warned: “Heavy and persistent snow may bring disruption.”
Power cuts are possible and some rural communities, particularly across the Peak District, Lake District and North York Moors, could be cut off.
Elsewhere up to 80mm is forecast with Wales in the firing line on New Year’s Day, raising fears of further flooding after Storm Bert wreaked carnage last month.
Tomorrow’s major New Year’s Eve events in London, including the firework spectacular on the River Thames, and the traditional Hogmanay street party in Edinburgh are still both scheduled to go ahead as planned.
On New Year separate warnings are in place for snow, wind and rain with up to 25cm of snow expected to fall across parts of Scotland, the East Midlands and northern England.
Winds of up to 60mph are forecast across the whole of England and Wales, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills.
To compound the miserable picture, 60mm of rain is expected across most of Wales.
Mr Page said: “With lots of celebrations and people on the move over the coming days, we are urging everyone to keep checking the forecast so they can update their plans.”
The unsettled picture comes as families leave the gloom and head abroad for New Year in search of sun or, ironically, guaranteed snow.
Thick fog caused huge problems over Christmas week with scores of flights grounded at UK busiest airports.
Mark Tanzer, boss of travel agent union ABTA, said: “Christmas and New Year are one of the busiest times of year for overseas travel with millions heading off to spend quality time with family and friends. Holidaymakers are either looking for some winter sun or guaranteed snow after the festivities.”