Brits warned of torrential rain and 25mph gales for first week of New Year as US bomb cyclone triggers weather chaos

AN AMERICAN "bomb" cyclone is set to batter Brits with torrential rain and cause travel chaos next week.

The Met Office has warned that Arctic blizzards in America will bring extreme weather to the UK in the New Year and issued yellow weather warnings.

Revellers may be disappointed to welcome 2023 amid stormy gales of up to 25mph and 16mm per hour on New Year's Eve.

Yellow weather warnings have been put into force for rain, snow and ice at opposite ends of the country.

Northern Scotland and the Highlands have been warned of snow and ice while Cardiff and the south of England can expect significant rainfall.

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst said: "There may be some heavy rain, so some tricky driving conditions across England and Wales across higher ground.

"Transpennine routes could find there are some tricky driving conditions, for example."

Mr Dewhurst added: "It's going to stay unsettled across the UK for the rest of the year.

"Into the new year we're going to see outbreaks of rain and stronger winds too. There will be rain moving eastwards today and snow falling across parts of Scotland.

"The main theme is that it is on the mild side for many.

"The best message is for everywhere to expect some heavy rain throughout the weekend and some stronger winds."

Those in the south of England and Wales will be affected the worst by heavy rainfall, particularly in areas such as Southampton, Brighton, Plymouth, Swansea and Pembroke.

Partygoers in the same areas will also experience gales from 18 to 25mph.

People in the north of England and southern Scotland will also face stormy weather tonight with winds of up to 15mph in certain areas.

These patterns will continue into the first week of the New Year with rain moving upwards across the UK.

Extreme weather is likely to cause travel disruptions and the Met Office warns of delayed or cancelled journeys.

It comes as the "bomb" cyclone wreaking havoc in America strengthens the power of the North Atlantic jet stream.

This is due to the jet stream being strengthened by temperature changes.

The Met Office has already had to issue amber weather warnings for those in Scotland yesterday.