Rain, sleet, flooding and freezing temperatures could lead to hazardous travel conditions, says Met Office
The Met Office has issued a three-day heavy snow warning as thousands of households mop up after torrential new year rain led to flooded properties, travel chaos and power cuts.
Temperatures could drop to well below freezing at the weekend with up to a foot of snow across England, Scotland and Wales – leading to rural areas being cut off, schools closures and road, rail and flight problems, forecasters said.
The warning was issued on what was a miserable start to 2025 for many parts of the UK, including Greater Manchester, where a major incident was declared at midday because of flooding caused by a dramatic overnight downpour.
Mountain rescue teams were deployed to help firefighters deal with people trapped in flooded properties and stranded vehicles.
People in flats in a converted mill in Stockport were unable to leave and were without running water and electricity after the car park and first floor were almost completely submerged.
Helen Scott, who lives on the top floor, told the BBC: “Can’t get in, can’t get out, the fire brigade are here.”
But she was stoical: “The fact I’ve still got a couple of proseccos still in me has taken the edge of this situation. Give me a couple of hours and I think the horror of the start of 2025 is going to sink in.”
Greater Manchester police said the worst-affected areas were Bolton, Didsbury, Harpurhey, Stalybridge, Stockport and Wigan. Trains were cancelled, sections of the M56 an M57 closed and people advised to travel only if necessary.
There were reports of flooded properties in other parts of the north-west including Ribchester, Clitheroe and Ormskirk in Lancashire.
Rivers were high everywhere but there was relief when the rain widely stopped at about 9am. At Whaley Bridge in the Peak District, the Goyt was visibly swollen but was half a metre lower than when a major incident was declared in 2019 and people were told to evacuate, volunteers said.
The Met Office said some parts of the north-west had received almost a month’s worth of rain in 48 hours. Honister Pass in Cumbria had nearly 150mm (6in), while Rochdale in Greater Manchester had 76mm.
In other parts of England, the biggest problem on New Year’s Day was strong winds, which led to the cancellation of a number of events, including charity dips.
At Heathrow airport, 36 flights were cancelled as the gusty conditions forced authorities to reduce the rate of arrivals.
London’s annual New Year’s Day parade went ahead, albeit delayed by 30 minutes in wet and windy conditions. It was also without inflatable cartoon characters, which in previous years have included a giant Garfield and a 21-meter (68ft) Mighty Mouse.
After the rain, there is likely to be snow and ice. The yellow snow warning runs from midday on Saturday until 9am on Monday and covers an area from Edinburgh to the south coast. Only some coastal fringes and the south-west of England are not included.
About 50mm of snow is expected widely across the Midlands, Wales and northern England, with as much as 200-300cm over high ground in Wales and the Pennines.
The Met Office meteorologist Tom Morgan said: “At the moment we’ve issued a very large snow warning for Saturday until Monday – but 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.
“It’s quite likely the warning will be updated quite frequently between now and the weekend. Certainly if you’ve got travel plans on Sunday, and perhaps Monday, stay tuned into the forecast.”
As well as the weekend snow warning, the Met Office issued a yellow ice warning for Scotland, north Wales and northern England between Wednesday afternoon and 10am Thursday.
Rain, sleet and freezing temperatures could lead to icy patches on roads and pavements and hazardous travel conditions, forecasters said.
The warning is in addition to a yellow weather warning for snow and ice that covers the Highlands and Grampian regions until 10am Thursday.
