Scots are set to suffer a Hogmanay washout with torrential rain and high winds putting a dampener on celebrations across the country. Edinburgh’s world famous fireworks and street party has already fallen victim to the weather which will continue to be wet for most of the day and night.
And those looking for calmness and solace in the New Year will be left disappointed as a big freeze has been predicted by one of Scotland’s top weather experts. STV’s Sean Batty has warned that temperatures could plummet to as low as -15c in 2025, making the country as cold as Alaska.
Several weather warnings have been issued by the Met Office over the next few days, including “danger to life” storm alerts which predicts snow, rain and high winds, and will cause “significant disruption” to Hogmanay celebrations. A yellow alert for heavy snow and rain is in place across most of the country, impacting the central belt, east and west coasts and the Highlands and Islands until midnight.
A similar warning for wind has also been issued across the central belt and south of Scotland with gusts of up to 70mph forecast until 11pm. An amber warning, meaning “danger to life” is in place across the Highlands until 5pm.
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Many roads have already partially closed in the north on Tuesday morning due to flooding, with the train line between Perth and Inverness shut due to rising water levels. ScotRail said this was because of “water levels exceeding sage limits” with a video showing Gynack Burn leaking onto the railway.
Less rain did fall overnight than expected in the Highlands with the risk of flooding downgraded by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (Sepa) from “severe.” Sepa said: “Overnight, water levels on the River Spey did not rise as expected. It did begin to rise early on Tuesday morning and that will continue into the day. Less rain fell overnight than was forecast, but is continuing to affect the area.”
Weather guru Mr Batty warned that Scotland is set to face a “rollercoaster of weather” in the next few days, with “heavy rain turning back to snow” and “blizzard conditions” in the Northern Isles. He said: “All parts of the country will experience strong winds, with gales in the north and west and further spells of heavy rain – particularly across the Highlands.
“Later in the day the rain is expected to calm down, but in the Highlands the freezing temperatures could turn the rain into snow overnight.” He added that snowy weather is expected to then travel south into central and southern Scotland on New Year’s Day with a big freeze incoming.
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He said: “The heavy sleet and snow in the north around the bells will sink into central and southern Scotland for New Year’s Day, which could bring a little wintryness to the likes of Glasgow and Edinburgh—with settling snow in higher areas. The north of the country will be in a much colder air flow with frequent heavy snow showers.”
The winter freeze is expected to kick off with snow showers continuing and the mercury plummeting, with Mr Batty predicting that temperatures could hit -15C on some nights in the Highland in the first two weeks of 2025, indicating it could be a miserable start to the new year for some.
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