29/12/2024
๐ง ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ช๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด โผ๏ธ
After the mild and benign spell of weather over the Christmas period, the weather looks set to be much more unsettled, colder and potentially impactful over the New Year period.
โถ๏ธ ๐ ๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ will be blustery with rain, most persistent across the north and west, followed by a spell of rain, heavy at times crossing all parts overnight. At the same time, itโll become increasingly windy overnight with strong and gusty southwest, then westerly winds picking up further on Tuesday.
โถ๏ธ ๐ง๐๐ฒ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ Gusts will reach 50-60 mph, perhaps isolated 70 mph in the most exposed areas, strong enough to bring down a few trees or branches, before easing during. Tuesday evening.
As such, the Met Office have issued a yellow, medium likelihood of low impact wind warning for New Years Eve, valid from 0600 until 1900 on Tuesday 31st December 2024 and covers much of Northern Ireland, except for parts of the south and southwest. This warns for the potential of disruption to travel, as well as short term disruption to power and other utilities, along with spray and large waves affecting exposed coastal routes, sea fronts and coastal communities.
The rest of Tuesday night will then be cold, perhaps with a touch of frost.
โถ๏ธ ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ / New Yearโs Day, an area of low pressure is expected to move in from the Atlantic and either move over or close to southern Ireland and then across Northern England, with rain turning to snow on its northern flank, though there is considerable doubt on its exact track.
This will be a multi-hazard event (potentially a named storm) with impacts from heavy rain near and too the south of the low centre, snow to the north (including Northern Ireland) and strong winds on its southern flank โ impacting many parts of the United Kingdom and Ireland. There is the possibility of 2-5 cm of lying snow in many places away from the immediate coast, and perhaps up to 10 cm in a few places, whilst 15-20 cm may accumulate over the hills with drifting in the strong northeast winds. At the moment, the south of Northern Ireland, along with all hilly areas / routes may see the worst of the snow / impacts but this is subject to the exact track of the weather system but hopefully we can add more details over the coming days as confidence increases. Power lines, mobile phone masts and trees could also be affected by ice accretion with ice also on untreated roads / pavements. On Wednesday evening, the weather system is expected to clear eastwards, leaving a cold northerly airflow behind with impacts from lying snow and ice overnight, along with occasional wintry showers โ especially across northern counties.
Given the uncertainty in the exact track of this low-pressure system and the level of impacts across Northern Ireland, the Met Office have issued a yellow, very low likelihood of medium impact snow warning for New Yearโs Day, covering ALL of Northern Ireland and valid from 07:00 until 23:59 on Wednesday 1st January 2025.
Medium impacts from snow are possible on New Yearโs Day and include:
โผ๏ธSome roads and railways affected with longer journey times by road, bus and train services
โผ๏ธThere is a small chance of some stranded vehicles and passengers, along with delayed or cancelled rail and air travel
โผ๏ธThere is a slight chance that some rural communities could become cut off
There is a small chance that power cuts will occur and other services, such as mobile phone coverage, may be affected