Weather warnings for rain, snow and winds of up to 70mph have been issued for parts of the UK on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, the Met Office has said.

Yellow warnings are in place for Northern Ireland, northern England and parts of Scotland from Tuesday before extending across most of the UK on Wednesday.

A series of warnings begin to come into force from 00:00 GMT on Monday and will last in some areas until 06:00 GMT on 2 January.

The forecaster said there was likely to be travel disruption with almost all of the country impacted by at least one yellow alert over the four days.

Following a period of heavy rain and some hill snow in Scotland on Monday, two areas of low pressure will bring unsettled conditions on both New Year's Eve and New Year's Day and eventually lead to a cold plunge of air from the north and a drop in temperature.

On New Year's Eve, there could be as much as 100-140mm (3.9- 5.5 inches) of rainfall in some parts of western Scotland which could lead to localised flooding. There could be some further snow in northern parts of the country too.

There will also be spells of rain across England, Northern Ireland and Wales. The rain looks particularly heavy in Wales.

While it will be windy everywhere, it could be very blustery in the south of England as the new year is welcomed in.

The weather warnings in place across the UK include:

- In northern Scotland, a yellow warning for rain and snow from 00:00 GMT on Monday until midnight on Tuesday. A separate warning for snow is in place for the Orkney Islands from 05:00 GMT until midnight on Tuesday.

- Also on Tuesday, parts of northern England are covered by a yellow warning for wind from 07:00 GMT until 23:00 GMT. A separate wind warning covers Northern Ireland from 06:00 GMT until 19:00 GMT.

- On Wednesday, yellow warnings for snow come into force, covering Northern Ireland until midnight and parts of northern England until 03:00 GMT on Thursday.

- Also on Wednesday, a yellow warning for wind is in place for most of England from 09:00 GMT until 06:00 GMT on Thursday. A separate yellow warning for rain covers part of Wales from 09:00 GMT until 21:00 GMT.

More widespread disruption is expected on New Year's Day as another area of low pressure moves across the UK.

The strongest winds will be over England and Wales with gusts near 70mph over coasts and hills in the south and west.

Rain is forecast to be heavier in Wales on Wednesday, which could bring some flooding.

Possible snowfall may lead to disruption in Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England.

Forecasters said 10cm of snow was expected in some areas with heavier falls over hills with blizzards and drifting.

The Met Office said there was "potential for the pattern of warnings to shift and possibly escalate in some areas".

Those travelling and with plans over the New Year are being urged to check the latest forecasts.

The yellow weather warnings come after thick fog caused disruption to hundreds of flights at some of the UK's major airports over the weekend.

Gatwick Airport reported continued delays on Sunday, and flights at Manchester, Glasgow and Cardiff were also affected on Friday and Saturday due to poor visibility.

Disruption could continue on Wednesday night. By the morning of Thursday 2 January, as the area of low pressure clears into Europe, arctic air may sweep towards the UK.

From Thursday into next weekend it will be much colder everywhere with widespread frosts. Most places will be dry and sunny during the day but wintry showers will affect northern areas and lead to icy conditions.

I used Internet explorer until recently, ...........

It seems that I have managed to melt the tar and performance issues and it's running much better.  Google has found the new https rather than http site and is enthusiastically indexing us.

Like sorta-works.   Security issues mean it gives you a blank page back rather than updating the existing one, so you need to refresh to see that you have liked - a bit irritating but such a key feature to bring back as soon as was practical and in doing that work I have other exciting stuff on the new server.  I have capitalised the word LIKE to alert you to the fact it's a bit different at the moment.

Buttons and helpers at the top are working, and I have now managed to upload a new avatar.

Lots still to do in various places but corefunctionallity is back - and thanks for all the confirm of the various browsers too.   

This looks to me like another example of "what down grades can we get away with" when introducing new trains or "improving" old ones.

The test forum has been running like treacle (or more like tar) overnight - and I have just found what I think may be the cause.   I am leaving it to run for an hour or two to be absolutely sure before I do anything else.

Known issue that I will then look at
- The "like" system is failing to allow new likes
- The buttons and helpers at the top of new post submissions are not working
Both of these are Javascript options / internet security does not like code being passed from the backroom server to the front of house server and some code changes are needed but I need to be sure the other stuff ir right and not treacle first.

In 1804, a 500-guinea (worth around £21,000 in today’s money) bet between two industrialists prompted Cornish engineer Richard Trevithick to create the Penydarren locomotive in South Wales, proving that steam could be used to haul coal. Four years later, Trevithick ran a steam engine on a circular track but the groundbreaking proposition failed to attract money from investors.

Trevithick’s ingenuity paved the way for the journey of Locomotion No. 1, which ran on the world’s first public steam railway, heralding the beginning of the world’s public railway system. Since then, rail travel has undergone vast technological and engineering advancements – influencing tourism, cuisine, trade, law and order, post, art and even football – and continues to evolve for a simpler, better and greener future.

{like} ;-)

I hope Graham's work manages to retain new topics started while he's at work.