Wind and rain batters UK as country welcomes 2025 – live updates

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Severe weather made recovering body in Lakes take two days.

Mountain rescue workers took two days to recover the body of a man who went for a walk with his dog in the Lake District and fell 180 metres to his death, the News and Star reports.

The man was reported missing by his wife, who was at home on December 29.

At 1am the next day (December 30), Patterdale and Keswick rescuers battled through appalling weather, eventually discovering the man’s bike and phone, but didn’t find him or his labrador. The search was called off half an hour later and resumed at first light.

In the late morning, the man’s dog was found alive on a ledge; a short time later, rescuers found the man, confirming he had succumbed to a fall of around 180 metres (590 feet).

The incident took 20 hours to resolve over two days and involved mountain rescuers from Patterdale, Keswick, Langdale Ambleside, Cockermouth, Penrith and Kirkby Stephen units, three dogs from Lake District Search And Rescue and two coastguard helicopters. In total, 68 rescue workers took part in the search.

A spokesperson from the Patterdale team: “We would like to send our condolences to the man’s family and friends and our thanks to the various teams and helicopter crews who assisted with the search and subsequent recovery.”

Wales was battered by heavy rain and high winds this morning, with major disruptions to travel across roads and railways. Landslips, flooding, and power cuts have been reported.

Two weather warnings for wind and rain are currently in force for the region. A 24-hour weather warning for rain started at 6pm on New Year’s Eve and is due to end at 6pm. The warning covers the whole country.

There is severe disruption across the rail network, with delays on many Transport for Wales lines and cancellations to travel links to Manchester Airport and Manchester Piccadilly.

People have been urged to steer clear from coastal areas until conditions settle. Natural Resources Wales said: “With a yellow wind warning in force today, we’re urging people to keep away from coastal paths and promenades. Spray and large waves can be dangerous and can flood properties.”

2025’s tempestuous start also grips Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire on January 1st.

Both regions are seeing heavy rain and strong winds today with three “danger to life” weather warnings in place.

A yellow warning for heavy rain across Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire has been in place since 3pm on New Year’s Eve and is due to remain until 11am.

A yellow weather warning for strong winds began at 12.15am and should remain until 3pm. The Environment Agency has warned that flooding is possible in a number of areas.

The Met Office warns that “fast flowing or deep floodwater is possible, causing a danger to life. There is a small chance of injuries and danger to life from flying debris.”

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New Year’s Eve events across the country were cancelled due to bad weather - although celebrations in Manchester and London went ahead.

Hogmanay in Edinburgh, billed as “one of the greatest outdoor celebrations of New Year’s Eve in the world”’, was cancelled yesterday.

Scottish rock band Texas were due to perform in Princes Street Gardens ahead of a customary fireworks display at Edinburgh Castle.

New Year’s revellers in the seaside town of Blackpool had to make do with a light show on the famous Blackpool Tower as the annual fireworks show was called off.

Newcastle’s quayside display was cancelled by the city council, saying: “Safety always comes first, and the forecast has made it clear that continuing would pose risks to those attending, as well as our event teams working on-site.”

Ripon’s New Year’s Eve bash also came a cropper due to high winds and yellow warnings.

Meanwhile, in the English Channel, the Isle of Wight dropped their plans to welcome in the new year ‘due to the severity of the swell of the water forecast’, which would have beached rescue vessels in emergency situations.

Heavy rain which fell overnight is causing significant disruption” on New Year’s Day across Greater Manchester, the Manchester Evening News reports.

Greater Manchester is covered with red flood warnings from the Environment Agency. An amber warning for rain is in force in northern and eastern parts of the region; the rest of Greater Manchester hit with a yellow weather warning.

Railway passengers in the North have been told not to travel due to severe flooding.

TransPennine Express says Greater Manchester and Cheshire are the worst affected areas. Passengers have been urged not to travel until the afternoon.

Multiple flood alerts are also in force across Merseyside.

Merseyrail is reporting some disruption to services due to flooding, while train services between Manchester Oxford Road and Liverpool Lime Street are at a stand still.

Major roads are shut and flood warnings are in place across Yorkshire.

Heavy rain has caused rivers to swell and has made many roads, including the Snake Pass, impossible to pass across South Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire on New Year’s Day.

Areas across the Yorkshire Dales, in and around Hawes, are experiencing flooded roads.

There are 35 flood alerts in North Yorkshire and 23 alerts in West Yorkshire,

The weather warnings in place across the UK include:

• An amber rain warning over parts of North West England until 9am on Wednesday.

• A yellow warning for rain for much of Wales and north-west England until 11am on Wednesday.

• In the north of Scotland’s mainland a yellow warning for snow and ice is in force from 04:00 on Wednesday until 9am on Thursday.

• A yellow warning of wind for Wales and large parts of England from 12:15am until 3pm on Wednesday.

Tom Ambrose

The UK has welcomed 2025 with fireworks and celebrations in London, but many events across the country were cancelled due to bad weather.

Tens of thousands of people attended the annual event in the capital, with millions more tuning in on television.

Speaking ahead of the spectacle, the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, said: “I’m really excited about the London New Year’s Eve fireworks, the biggest fireworks taking place anywhere across Europe…

​​New Year’s Eve events across the country were cancelled due to bad weather - although celebrations in Manchester and London went ahead.

Hogmanay in Edinburgh, billed as “one of the greatest outdoor celebrations of New Year’s Eve in the world”’, was cancelled yesterday. Scottish rock band Texas were due to perform in Princes Street Gardens ahead of a customary fireworks display at Edinburgh Castle.

New Year’s revellers in the seaside town of Blackpool had to make do with a light show on the famous Blackpool Tower as the annual fireworks show was called off.

Newcastle’s quayside display was cancelled by the city council, saying: “Safety always comes first, and the forecast has made it clear that continuing would pose risks to those attending, as well as our event teams working on-site.”

Ripon’s New Year’s Eve bash also came a cropper due to high winds and yellow warnings.

Meanwhile, in the English Channel, the Isle of Wight dropped their plans to welcome in the new year ‘due to the severity of the swell of the water forecast’, which would have beached rescue vessels in emergency situations.

The Environment Agency had warned people not to travel last night.

UK issues over 150 flood warnings on first day of 2025

The Environment Agency issues more than 150 flood warnings across the UK as wind and rain is poised to bombard much of the country on 2025’s maiden day.

“Heavy and persistent rain tonight and into tomorrow means river levels are likely to be high across the North of England, Pennines and parts of the Midlands until the end of the week, with significant inland flooding possible until Thursday and minor impacts possible on Friday.

Stefan Laeger, Flood Duty Manager at the Environment Agency, said:

Environment Agency teams will be out on the ground, operating flood defences, taking action to reduce the impact of flooding, issuing flood warnings and supporting those communities affected.

We advise anyone travelling or out celebrating the New Year to be especially careful and urge people to stay away from swollen rivers and not to drive through flood water as just 30cm of flowing water is enough to move your car.

People should search ‘check my flood risk’, sign up for free flood warnings, and keep up to date with the latest situation at @EnvAgency on X.

The Met Office also issued Yellow and amber warnings for wind and rain for much of Wales, north west England, Yorkshire, the East Midlands and southern England.

A warning for snow and ice has also been issued for northern Scotland.

Wind and rain batters UK

Good morning and happy new year as the UK braces for a stormy start to 2025.

North-West England is bearing the brunt of the rain this morning, although Met Office weather warnings are in place across large parts of England, Wales and Scotland on New Year’s Day.

An amber alert is in place for North-West England until 9am with the Met Office earlier saying heavy rain had fallen across the region for several hours.

The forecaster said it was expected to affect parts of Cheshire, Derbyshire and South Yorkshire for a few hours.

The Met Office warning stretches from Settle in the Yorkshire Dales across to Preston and down to parts of the Peak District.

It states that heavy rainfall is “likely to lead to disruption including flooding in some locations” with a chance some places could see more than 10cm of rain. Stay with us this morning for more on the weather and its effect on new year travel and event plans.