Conditions expected to improve after bad weather disrupts Christmas travel

Conditions are expected to improve this week after bad weather caused disruption during the Christmas getaway period.

The Met Office has forecast a “grey Christmas” with some sunny spells and “extremely mild” temperatures.

It comes after a “perfect storm” of adverse weather conditions and road congestion led to widespread disruption during the Christmas getaway.

The Met Office issued yellow warnings for wind which remained in place until 9pm on Sunday.

The warnings were in place in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and in England the warnings covered the North East, North West, South West and West Midlands as well as Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Hampshire.

The forecaster also issued a new yellow warning for ice in parts of north-east Scotland, which came into force at 9pm on Sunday until 10am on Monday.

An airport was forced to enact emergency procedures on Sunday after a plane’s nose wheel collapsed as it landed in Belfast.

There were four crew on board and no passengers when the “hard landing” occurred on Sunday afternoon.

The incident triggered emergency procedures at Belfast City Airport and forced the runway to close for the rest of the day.

In a statement on social media early on Monday, the airport confirmed the affected runway “has reopened and is operating as normal”.

The statement continued: “Passengers impacted by yesterday’s runway closure or those due to travel today should check the status of their flight with the airline.”

Heathrow Airport confirmed around 100 flights had been cancelled on Sunday and passengers were advised to check with their airline before travelling.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Due to strong winds and airspace restrictions, a small number of flights have been cancelled (on Sunday). This will ensure the vast majority of passengers can still travel as planned.

“We know how important travel at this time of year is and have extra colleagues on hand in our terminals to support people on their journeys. We encourage passengers to check with their airline for the latest information about their flight.”

The airport was keen to stress the vast majority of flights were operating as normal.

Several Loganair flights from Glasgow Airport to the Hebridean islands were also cancelled, and 18 CalMac ferry routes were axed.

Disruption continued as people were ferried to Ireland on alternative routes after the temporary closure of Holyhead port in an effort to get people home for Christmas, a Welsh Cabinet Secretary said.

The busy ferry port in Anglesey, North Wales, was forced to close following damage during Storm Darragh and is not set to reopen until January 15 at the earliest.

All ferry services between Dublin and Holyhead are currently cancelled, upending travel plans for thousands in the festive season.

But alternative sailings to Ireland have been taking place this weekend amid high winds and challenging conditions.

The strongest wind speed during the weekend was recorded at 82mph in Kirkwall on Orkney and the South Uist Range.

Meanwhile, the weekend’s lowest temperature was recorded at Killylane in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, where the mercury fell to minus 0.4C on Sunday.

The AA predicted 21.3 million drivers would hit the road on Sunday, while 22.7 million had been expected on Saturday, slightly fewer than the 23.7 million on Friday which was expected to be the busiest day on the roads since the group’s records began in 2010.

The RAC estimated seven million leisure trips would be made on major roads during the weekend, which excludes everyday traffic.

Looking ahead to next week, conditions are expected to improve and the UK could see a “grey Christmas”, rather than a white one.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We’re expecting to see some sunny spells further east and a lot of cloud from the west.

“Temperatures should rise considerably and it will be extremely mild over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

“In England and Wales, temperatures will be well above average with some grey in the mix.

“We’re expecting an average of around 12C or 13C on Christmas Eve and 11C or 12C on Christmas Day. The usual average for this time of year is 7C or 8C so we’ll be around double where we usually are.

“Overnight temperatures in Scotland for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be extremely mild.”