The Met Office has issued a number of weather warnings across the UK in recent days, with heavy snow, wind and rain expected across the country as the new year draws closer. The forecaster initially predicted snowfall in parts of Derbyshire from 9am on New Year’s Day until Thursday, January 2, but has since changed this warning from snow to rain.
Coming into force at 6pm on New Year’s Eve (Tuesday, December 31), the warning covers a number of county towns including Ashbourne, Matlock, Bakewell, Buxton and Glossop. Commenting on the warning which is set to remain in place until 6pm on New Year’s Day (Wednesday, January 1), a spokesperson for the Met Office said: “Beginning on Tuesday (New Year’s Eve), persistent and at times heavy rainfall is expected as a band of rain becomes slow-moving across the region, accompanied by strong winds.
“There remains a bit of uncertainty around how this evolves on Wednesday morning, which will impact final rainfall totals, but rain is expected to clear to the southeast through Wednesday afternoon. 30-50 mm is expected fairly widely, with 60-80 mm across west-facing hills.
“There is a chance a few locations could see in excess of 100 mm during the event, with north Wales the most likely region to see these larger totals.” The forecaster says there is a slight chance of power cuts and loss of other services in areas, as well as flooding and damage to property in low-lying areas.
It has also warned that delays to rail, air and public transport is possible, particularly as a result of the strong winds. Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.
Derbyshire hour-by-hour weather forecast – Tuesday, December 31 and Wednesday, January 1:
Tuesday, December 31
- 10am – Clear (18mph winds)
- 12pm – Clear (42mph winds)
- 2pm – Clear (46mph winds)
- 4pm – Light rain (45mph winds)
- 6pm – Light rain (44mph winds)
- 8pm – Light rain (42mph winds)
- 10pm – Light rain (22mph winds)
Wednesday, January 1
- 12am – Heavy rain (20mph winds)
- 2am – Heavy rain (18mph winds)
- 4am – Light rain (15mph winds)
- 6am – Light rain (12mph winds)
- 8am – Light rain (11mph winds)
- 10am – Heavy rain (14mph winds)
- 12pm – Heavy rain (15mph winds)
- 2pm – Heavy rain (17mph winds)
- 4pm – Heavy rain (17mph winds)
- 6pm – Light rain (17mph winds)
- 8pm Light rain (16mph winds)