London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

UK weather: Ice warnings and rail strikes set for Boxing Day

UK weather: Ice warnings and rail strikes set for Boxing Day

More snow and ice is set to hit parts of the UK on Boxing Day - as rail strikes look set to cause further travel disruption.

The Met Office has issued two yellow weather warnings for Monday 26 December, with snow and ice alerts in place across large parts of Scotland.

Ice warnings are also in place for most of Northern Ireland.

Traffic is set to build around shopping centres, as bargain hunters are forced onto the roads instead of railways.

The AA expects 15.2 million cars on the roads throughout Monday, but says many will be making short trips that are likely be spread out across the day.

A spokesman said: "Traffic is likely to build around shopping centres as lots of people seek a bargain in the sales, meanwhile football fans will travel to see their teams."

Temperatures are expected to hit -4C (24.8F) in the Scottish Highlands and about 4C in Northern Ireland.

The Met Office's weather warnings for Boxing Day include yellow alerts for:

*  Snow and ice for most of the Scottish Highlands, as well as some lowland areas until 18:00 on Boxing Day

*  Ice to hit Belfast and Newry in Northern Ireland from 00:00 to 10:00 on Boxing Day

The Environment Agency has 42 active alerts for possible flooding in England.

Separately, 24 flood warnings - meaning flooding is likely - are in place for areas including River Severn in Gloucestershire, Tyne and Wear coast, and River Trent in Derbyshire.

Met Office meteorologist Rachel Ayers said blizzards could hit high ground.

She said: "Showers, which will be wintry in places, will continue across Scotland, Northern Ireland and far northern England, locally these could be heavy with hail or a thunderstorm possible.

"Any accumulating snow will be mainly over high ground where there is a risk of blizzards.

"Showers easing into the later part of the afternoon.

"Windy for all, with gales in places especially across the Northern Isles."

It will be milder further south - with Birmingham expected to see about 5C and London and Cardiff expected to be around 7C.

Network Rail has said railways across the UK will remain closed for a second day due to a walkout by employees who are members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) union.

Merseyrail is due to run a half-hourly service across its network on Merseyside, with its website saying trains will run between approximately 09:00 to 18:30 and only stopping at selected stations.

ScotRail usually has a Boxing Day service in the Strathclyde area - but there will be no services there this year.

Northern operated a service between Liverpool Lime Street and St Helens Central on Boxing Day last year, but the company has said there will be no trains running on Monday.

There will also be no Southern services.

Trains do not usually run on Boxing Day, apart from some airport transfer services, such as the Stansted Express and Heathrow Express.

Instead, people can travel on Megabus or National Express bus services if they need public transport, as they run on Christmas Day and Boxing Day each year.

Meanwhile, people planning to jet off for a festive getaway will need to find other ways of getting to and from the UK's airports.

Airport transfers including the Heathrow Express and Stansted Express tend to be the most popular services on Boxing Day.

The RAC also highlighted two stretches of the M25 as likely hotspots for traffic - including from junction 7 to 16 clockwise, and from junction 4 to 1 anti-clockwise.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×