New Year's Eve snow forecast: Met Office say its “all change” for weather as revellers set to welcome in 2026

Parts of the UK could welcome in 2026 with snow - according to experts at the Met Office. Changing wind patterns mean colder temperatures are set to hit on New Year’s Eve and into New Year’s Day, forecasters warned.

Greg Dewhurst, a meteorologist at the Met Office, said while the Christmas period had been “quiet” on the weather front, it was “all change” as we gear up to see in the new year.

Before that, the week would see “colder air starting to move down from the north”, he said, bringing “an increasing risk of some sleet and snow - particularly in the north” in the next couple of days.

Most places would look set to stay “cloudy and grey”, the expert said, with temperatures settling around the average for the time of year, between 5C and 8C in England, and between 2C and 5C in parts of Scotland.

However, people returning to work on Monday (December 29) could face “some tricky travelling conditions”, he said, as fog patches were possible, which “could be quite dense, particularly through the central belt”.

Later in the week, around New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, Mr Dewhurst said things would “feel quite chilly for most”, and added: “Rather cloudy but again there'll be some sunny spells that develop particularly across western Scotland, Northern Ireland, western fringes of England and Wales. And again, the cloud just like recent days; thick enough for some light rain and drizzle in places, and temperatures very similar generally, between 5C and 7C locally, 8C or 9C around some coast.”

“Looking ahead into the new year, generally staying rather settled,” the forecaster added. “A lot of cloud around, but it will come and go, allowing some sunny spells, overnight frosts possible, too. But just signs of it turning a little bit more unsettled as we head to New Year's Day. An increasing risk of some wintry showers, sleet, and snow particularly across the north of the UK. More to come on that over the next few days.”

Temperatures into 2026 would be “generally a little below average”, he added, at between 3C and 5C for many, prompting “a chilly end to 2025”.