Forecasters are warning road, rail and air travellers to expect more travel chaos over the New Year period after Friday’s stormy and wintry weather caused damage to buildings and an airport to close.
Meteorologists say disruption may occur across the country as 2017 draws to a close. Winds from Storm Dylan could cause danger to life as 80mph gusts hurl debris through the air, the Met Office said.
The weather system is expected to cause problems nationwide, with Northern Ireland and southern Scotland set to feel the strongest winds. A yellow warning is in place there for Sunday from just after midnight to 3pm.
Heavy downpours are also predicted to blight much of southeast Wales, plus southwestern, central and southern England over the weekend.
With a yellow warning for heavy rain issued by the Met Office from 6pm on Saturday to 9am on Sunday, up to 25mm is predicted to fall, while up to 40mm could be seen in some spots.
On Friday morning snow blanketed Scotland and northern England, with 10cm forcing the temporary closure of Glasgow airport, while the south coast was lashed by torrential downpours and lightning.
Buildings were damaged by strong winds, and some areas experienced power cuts. In East Boldre, Hampshire, strong gusts ripped several rows of shingles off the roof of a house.
The RAC said it was “very, very busy across the UK” on Friday morning as a result of the weather, and had been dealing with around one breakdown every 10 seconds.
The AA said it had received some 1,687 breakdown calls before 10am on Friday, with 10 cases of vehicles being stuck in snow.
Because of the slippery conditions there were reports of collisions, and a number of roads were closed.
Friday's weather conditions came after Britain woke up from one of the coldest nights of the year when temperatures dropped to a low of -12.3C.
Additional reporting by agencies
