New Year’s Eve firework displays have been put in peril as events have been cancelled following a rare weather warning from the Met Office.
A planned fireworks display in Blackpool has been cancelled because of expected high winds, according to the Visit Blackpool website.
The rest of the New Year’s Eve Family Party will go ahead in the seaside resort, with a projection on the tower to mark the start of the new year.
London’s City Hall has said it is “monitoring the weather” ahead of the city’s New Year’s Eve celebrations after some of Edinburgh’s Hogmanay festivities were cancelled due to bad weather.
Almost every part of the country is covered by at least one of the multiple Met Office weather warnings between Monday and Wednesday.
A yellow weather warning of heavy rain and snow is currently in force across most of Scotland for Monday and Tuesday, while an amber warning for rain is in place for an area around Inverness on Tuesday.
Stormy conditions are expected to spread to the rest of the UK on New Year’s Eve, with yellow warnings for wind and rain in place for parts of England, Northern Ireland and Wales.
On Monday afternoon, organisers announced outdoor events at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay celebrations on Monday and Tuesday would be cancelled, including the street party and concert in Princes Street Gardens – due to be headlined by Scottish band Texas – and the midnight fireworks. The spokesperson said indoor events are continuing as planned.
It is understood there are currently no plans to cancel any New Year’s Eve events in London, but a spokesperson for the mayor confirmed local authorities were continuing “to monitor the weather forecast closely”.
On New Year’s Eve, delays to all types of transport are “likely” as strong winds persist and may reach speeds of up to 70mph in England and Northern Ireland, the Met Office has warned.
A yellow warning for rain and snow is in place across Scotland until midnight on Wednesday, while an amber warning for rain comes into force for Moray and Highland first thing on Tuesday until 5pm.
Aviemore and nearby areas in the Highlands are also bracing for extensive river flooding on Tuesday morning, with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) issuing a rare severe flood warning of “danger to life” after a night of continuous rain.
CalMac Ferries said several services on the west coast of Scotland had been cancelled with others subject to disruption. The A66 in Cumbria and North Yorkshire was closed in both directions to high-sided vehicles.
Parts of northern England are covered by a yellow warning for wind from 7am until 11pm on New Year’s Eve, with a separate wind warning covering Northern Ireland from 6am until 2pm.
A yellow warning for snow will be in place from 5am until midnight in Orkney and Shetland. A 24-hour yellow warning for rain will also come into force across much of Wales and north-west England from 6pm on Tuesday.
The new year will be off to a turbulent start with separate weather warnings in place for wind and rain on January 1.
Winds of up to 60mph are forecast across much of England and Wales all day on Wednesday, with gusts of 75mph likely around coastal areas and hills, according to the Met Office.