The storms will be concentrated in northern areas on the 31st, before spreading southwards
An amber weather warning for heavy rain has been added to the catalogue of Met Office alerts in place over the New Year period.
Forecasters expect ‘disruptive’ and potentially hazardous weather across almost all of the UK at various times in the next few days.
This includes yellow warnings on New Year’s Eve for rain in Wales and north-west England, wind in northeastern England, Cumbria and southern Scotland, and snow in the rest of Scotland.
The amber alert warns of ‘likely’ flooding to homes and businesses in central Scotland, including Inverness, with 10 flood alerts and 20 flood warnings in place on Monday.
Scotland and northern England are set to be battered by strong gales, snow and rain
The Met Office says there’s a ‘good chance’ of communities getting cut off by flooded roads, as well as power cuts and other service outages.
The Scottish government has called a meeting of its emergency and crisis response unit in response to the risks.
Up to 140mm of rain is expected to fall on western Scotland today and tomorrow, with snow expected in most other regions of Scotland.
There are two weather warnings in place today (Picture: Metro)
Yellow alerts are in force for wind across England, rain in Wales and snow in Scotland (Picture: Metro)
Winds of up to 60mph and blustery showers are expected across northern England, the Midlands and Wales through to the mid-afternoon.
Weather officials have warned travel disruption and other hazards are likely to persist in those areas until 11pm.
The storms are expected to dissipate as they move southwards, resulting in lighter showers in the southwest and southeast in the evening.
Forecasters predict a few hours of respite overnight before another larger storm hits the UK on New Year’s Day (Wednesday).
New year, same old weather (Picture: Metro)
Further yellow weather alerts have been issued for ‘very strong winds’ across the entirety of England from 9am through to 6am the following day.
‘Gusts of 65-75 mph are likely around coasts and hills, especially in the south and west, with 50-60 mph gusts likely fairly widely inland,’ the Met Office warned.
Heavy rain is expected to hit western areas in the morning and persist throughout the day, with northern England and southern Scotland getting drenched in the late afternoon.
In Wales, the rain is expected to be heavy enough to warrant a yellow alert.
Stormy weather is expected to persist until the morning of January 2 (Picture: Anadolu)
Forecasters say flooding of homes and businesses is ‘likely’ in some areas there.
Power cuts, flooding on roads and public transport disruption are also probable, according to the Met Office.
Chief forecaster Andy Page said: ‘There is a very complicated weather forecast for the UK with snow, strong winds and heavy rain all feature for parts of the UK.
Rainy conditions are expected across large parts of the UK (Picture: Shutterstock)
‘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.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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