London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Sep 03, 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
Google Avoids Break-Up in U.S. Antitrust Case as Stocks Rise
Couple celebrates 80th wedding anniversary at assisted living facility in Lancaster
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
The White House on LinkedIn Has Changed Their Profile Picture to Donald Trump
"Insulted the Prophet Muhammad": Woman Burned Alive by Angry Mob in Niger State, Nigeria
Trump Responds to Death Rumors – Announces 'Missile City'
Court of Appeal Allows Asylum Seekers to Remain at Essex Hotel Amid Local Tax Boycott Threats
Germany in Turmoil: Ukrainian Teenage Girl Pushed to Death by Illegal Iraqi Migrant
United Krack down on human rights: Graham Linehan Arrested at Heathrow Over Three X Posts, Hospitalised, Released on Bail with Posting Ban
Asian and Middle Eastern Investors Avoid US Markets
Ray Dalio Warns of US Shift to Autocracy
Eurozone Inflation Rises to 2.1% in August
Russia and China Sign New Gas Pipeline Deal
China's Robotics Industry Fuels Export Surge
Suntory Chairman Resigns After Police Probe
Gold Price Hits New All-Time Record
Von der Leyen's Plane Hit by Suspected Russian GPS Interference in an Incident Believed to Be Caused by Russia or by Pro-Peace or by Anti-Corruption European Activists
UK Fintechs Explore Buying US Banks
Greece Suspends 5% of Schools as Birth Rate Drops
Apollo to Launch $5 Billion Sports Investment Vehicle
Bolsonaro Trial Nears Close Amid US-Brazil Tension
European Banks Push for Lower Cross-Border Barriers
Poland's Offshore Wind Sector Attracts Investors
Nvidia Reveals: Two Mystery Customers Account for About 40% of Revenue
Woody Allen: "I Would Be Happy to Direct Trump Again in a Film"
Pickles are the latest craze among Generation Z in the United States.
Deadline Day Delivers Record £125m Isak Move and Donnarumma to City
Nestlé Removes CEO Laurent Freixe Following Undisclosed Relationship with Subordinate
Giuliani Seriously Injured in Accident – Trump to Award Him the Presidential Medal of Freedom
EU is getting aggressive: Four AfD Candidates Die Unexpectedly Ahead of North Rhine-Westphalia Local Elections
Lula and Putin Hold Strategic BRICS Discussions Ahead of Trump–Putin Summit
WhatsApp is rolling out a feature that looks a lot like Telegram.
Investigations Reveal Rise in ‘Sex-for-Rent’ Listings Across Canada Exploiting Vulnerable Tenants
Chinese and Indian Leaders Pursue Amity Amid Global Shifts
European Union Plans for Ukraine Deployment
ECB Warns Against Inflation Complacency
Concerns Over North Cyprus Casino Development
Shipping Companies Look Beyond Chinese Finance
Rural Exodus Fueling European Wildfires
China Hosts Major Security Meeting
Chinese Police Successfully Recover Family's Savings from Livestream Purchases
Germany Marks a Decade Since Migrant Wave with Divisions, Success Stories, and Political Shifts
Liverpool Defeat Arsenal 1–0 with Szoboszlai Free-Kick to Stay Top of Premier League
Prince Harry and King Charles to Meet in First Reunion After 20 Months
Chinese Stock Market Rally Fueled by Domestic Investors
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
Ukrainian Nationalist Politician Andriy Parubiy Assassinated in Lviv
Corporate America Cuts Middle Management as Bosses Take On Triple the Workload
Parents Sue OpenAI After Teen’s Death, Alleging ChatGPT Encouraged Suicide
Amazon Faces Lawsuit Over 'Buy' Label on Digital Streaming Content
×