A wet and windy Christmas morning in Northern Ireland sees weather warning

It has been a wet and windy Christmas Day so far in Northern Ireland, as of late morning, and set to be more so.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Persistent rain for much of the night saw some instances of localised flooding.

Vehicles are advised to proceed with caution in places where water has gathered on the road.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In various places including the Parkway dual carriageway in east Belfast and the Upper Newtownards Road near Stormont in the early hours the inside lane in parts of those four-lane roads was flooded and passable only with care at low speed.

The Met Office @metoffice has issued a Yellow weather warning for Northern Ireland.

It predicted more wet weather this afternoon.

Due to be in effect from 3pm on Saturday to 9am tomorrow, parts of County Down and County Armagh can expect heavy downpours.

A Met Office tweet (see it on this web page) summarised the overall situation as follows: “Rain across parts of Northern Ireland. Saturday 1500 – Sunday 0900”

A satellite image of Northern Ireland taken at 10am on Christmas Day. Rain is already encroaching on Fermanagh, and it was raining in the east of the province overnight. A band of barely ceasing rain across all of NI is expected after 3pm until at least 10pmA satellite image of Northern Ireland taken at 10am on Christmas Day. Rain is already encroaching on Fermanagh, and it was raining in the east of the province overnight. A band of barely ceasing rain across all of NI is expected after 3pm until at least 10pm
A satellite image of Northern Ireland taken at 10am on Christmas Day. Rain is already encroaching on Fermanagh, and it was raining in the east of the province overnight. A band of barely ceasing rain across all of NI is expected after 3pm until at least 10pm
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

An accompanying satellite image suggests that the entirety of the Province will be under a band of rain from late afternoon until at least 10pm.

The rain could also result in travel disruption and the Met Office said “flooding of a few homes and businesses is likely”.

But temperatures have been mild with little sign of freezing conditions.

The Department for Infrastructure said this morning of its road network:

Localised flooding is expected on Christmas Day and there have already been locations in Northern Ireland were roads can only be passed with care. This picture was taken on the Braniel Road outside Belfast earlier this month, but there have been similar scenes elsewhere in the early hours of today, December 25, such as on Parkway in east Belfast. 
Picture by Arthur Allison/Pacemaker PressLocalised flooding is expected on Christmas Day and there have already been locations in Northern Ireland were roads can only be passed with care. This picture was taken on the Braniel Road outside Belfast earlier this month, but there have been similar scenes elsewhere in the early hours of today, December 25, such as on Parkway in east Belfast. 
Picture by Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press
Localised flooding is expected on Christmas Day and there have already been locations in Northern Ireland were roads can only be passed with care. This picture was taken on the Braniel Road outside Belfast earlier this month, but there have been similar scenes elsewhere in the early hours of today, December 25, such as on Parkway in east Belfast. Picture by Arthur Allison/Pacemaker Press
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Another mild night-Temperatures remained above freezing overnight and no salting of the scheduled road network was carried out overnight or this morning.”

Elsewhere, in Shetland and parts of eastern Scotland have woken up to a white Christmas, the Met Office confirmed.

As of 7am on Christmas Day, the weather agency said there had been snowfall, with more forecast for later in the day in the southern Highlands.

Aboyne in Aberdeenshire and Strathallan in Perthshire were found to have encountered some snowfall overnight.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On Twitter, the Met Office said: “We’ve already seen some #snow in Shetland, parts of eastern Scotland.”

A tweet from the Met Office also noted that snow had been seen in the Yorkshire Dales via traffic cameras.

Moving into Boxing Day, more snow is expected in parts of central and southern Scotland and the north-west of England, with the Met Office issuing a yellow weather warning.

Coming into effect just after midnight, the warning will last until noon, according to the agency.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A combination of strong winds and snow on higher ground is expected to disrupt travel.

Roads and railways could be impacted, with the possibility of power outages.

London will see temperatures of around 7C (44.6F) dropping to 6C (42.8F) around noon, with a chance of rain in the evening, while Manchester will be colder, dropping from 4C (39.2F) to 3C (37.4F) later in the day, with a likelihood of rain after 10pm.

Edinburgh will fluctuate between 2C (35.6F) and 3C with no rain expected, while Belfast is likely to see rain all day and temperatures of 6C.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Forecasters say Cardiff will be around 8C (46.4F) or 9C (48.2F) on Christmas Day, but with rain expected throughout.

——— ———

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdowns having had a major impact on many of our advertisers — and consequently the revenue we receive — we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content.

Visit

now to sign up.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry, Editor