‘Brighter’ weather expected ahead of New Year’s Eve washout

The UK will be “brighter” on Sunday, ahead of a blast of snow and rain towards New Year’s Eve, the Met Office has said.

Highs of 12C are expected in Exeter, Devon, with 10C across other parts of the country country including Belfast, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Pembrokeshire and Southampton, according to the forecaster.

The fog, which shrouded the country over Friday and Saturday – causing delays at multiple airports including Gatwick and Manchester – is largely set to dissipate by Sunday afternoon.

South-east England will see a “dull start” to the day with “brighter conditions” later on, while northern parts of the country will be “quite windy”, with heavy downpours moving across Scotland, the weather service said.

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for Monday and Tuesday – with up to 140mm of rain, 20cm of snow and 60mph winds possible in the worst-affected areas during the run-up to New Year’s Eve.

The warning for snow and rain covers most of Scotland – which is braced for heavy downpours which may bring “significant disruption” in the build-up to Hogmanay.

Of Sunday’s weather, senior forecaster Craig Snell said: “We should see a brighter day across the UK.

“It could still be a bit dull to start across kind of the South East, especially, but as the day goes on, we should see some brighter, brighter weather develop even there.

“It’s not going to be wall-to-wall sunshine, but we certainly hopefully have lost a lot of the murk we’ve seen for the last day or so.”

The outlook towards New Year’s Eve is “unsettled” with blustery and wet conditions set to hit the north of the country with “less expansive” rain in the south.

The weather warning for snow and rain is in place on December 30 and 31 for most of Scotland, apart from Orkney and Shetland, during which 50-70mm of rain is possible and up to 140mm in the west.

Between 10 and 20cm of snow is expected to accumulate on higher ground with flakes expected to fall in areas north and east of Perthshire, according to the forecaster.

A separate warning for wind in northern England on Monday has also been issued – with gusts of up to 60mph possible which may cause travel delays and power cuts.

The warning, in place from 11am to 6pm, covers areas including Durham, Northumberland, Cumbria and North Yorkshire.