Brace for more Christmas travel hell: Met Office issues yellow weather warnings for 70mph winds in central and northern Britain with ‘lengthy jams’ expected on roads and rail chaos with closure of King’s Cross and Paddington
Millions of people are bracing for travel chaos on Christmas Eve as last-minute travelers face road and train disruptions.
The AA warned of “lengthy traffic jams” and the Met Office said Christmas travel plans could be disrupted by wind gusts of up to 70mph due to the impact.
Rail disruption is likely to be worsened by the closure of London’s two busiest train stations, King’s Cross and Paddington, due to engineering work.
Photos show that the stations have become a ghost town, with no passengers or trains on the platforms.
The closure of London Paddington will last until Wednesday, meaning there will be no mainline train services to Heathrow Airport.
Strong winds are expected across the north of Scotland and northern and central England as people make their final journey before Christmas.
Two separate yellow wind warnings have been issued, saying people should expect travel disruptions, damage to buildings and power outages, while the rest of the country could experience downpours.
A delivery driver drives through a large paddle during heavy rain in Manchester as Britain is hit by rain and strong winds.
Paddington station, closed due to engineering work, was empty this morning.
Strong winds are expected across the north of Scotland and northern and central England as people make their final journey before Christmas.
King’s Cross station in London, which is also closed today for engineering work.
Meteorologist Liam Eslick said: “People should try to leave more time, especially in exposed areas, this could impact rail networks and ferries.”
“People traveling on the roads should take care and stay away from high-sided vehicles, and those at home going for walks should stay away from coastlines.”
A yellow warning for rain is also currently in place across much of Wales, with forecasters warning flooding and travel disruption is possible and will last until 6pm on Christmas Eve.
Rainfall between 20 and 40 mm is expected in regions, and between 60 and 80 mm in higher areas.
Mr Eslick said there could be snow in the Scottish mountains on December 25 but it was “unlikely to have a white Christmas in England”.
He added that Christmas is expected to be much milder than usual, with average December temperatures of between 7C and 8C, but the maximum temperature seen on December 25 will be 14C.
In 1920, the warmest temperature on record was 15.6C, so there was a “slight possibility” that this would be a record, Mr Eslick added.
Forecaster Jonathan Vautrey said: “Clearly there will be quite a lot of people traveling and wanting to get home for Christmas itself.
Empty platforms at Paddington station in west London, which is closed due to engineering work.
Travelers wait to board a train at Euston Station in the early hours of Christmas Eve.
Passengers make their Christmas journey at London St Pancras Station in the early morning.
Passengers wait to board a train at Euston station during the frantic Christmas break on Christmas Eve.
The AA estimated 16.4 million car journeys would be made on Saturday and warned of significant delays. Pictured: Heavy traffic on the M25 northbound near Byfleet in Surrey yesterday.
Christmas travelers packed London’s Waterloo Station yesterday afternoon, with some leaving the capital and others heading out shopping.
A queue approaches the A102M Blackwall tunnel in Greenwich, south-east London, as people left for their Christmas holiday yesterday.
“Especially with these high winds, we may see flying debris blown onto certain roads or train tracks, so if you bring down a tree, it will cause cancellations and delays.
“There is a possibility of isolated power outages, which again may lead to the risk of some disruption from time to time.
“If you have a particular train you are boarding, make sure you look ahead to see if there have been any cancellations.
“Just make sure you drive carefully, there is a possibility that high sided vehicles could encounter strong gusts of wind which could result in impacts, so we may also see bridge closures.”
The RAC advised motorists to travel before 11am or after 6pm if possible to reduce the chance of getting stuck in long queues.
At the Port of Dover, waiting times at border control reached 90 minutes on Saturday morning, but the queues had cleared by midday.
The AA has predicted that today will be one of the busiest days on the UK’s roads.
The RAC said it expected 13.5 million car journeys until Sunday.
The port said demand for ferries had soared after rail links to the Channel Tunnel were closed on Thursday due to an unscheduled strike by French workers that disrupted the travel plans of tens of thousands of people.
Meanwhile, a number of serious accidents closed roads across the country on Saturday.
The A1 in Northumberland was closed in both directions on Saturday morning following a crash between the A1167 and B1340 near Belford.
A multi-vehicle crash closed the M62 in the East Riding of Yorkshire westbound between J38 near Hull and J37 near Howden on Saturday.
The M25 in Essex was expected to be closed clockwise overnight until Sunday between J27 for the M11 and J28 for the A12, near Brentwood, due to a crash involving a vehicle.
Eurostar, which operates passenger rail services to and from London St Pancras Station, is running two extra trains a day between London and Paris, including on Christmas Eve, to help people whose trains were canceled on Thursday.
Eurotunnel motorized trains operate on a normal schedule, but only accept customers who have pre-booked tickets.