Strong winds continue to disrupt travel in parts of the UK as millions of people travel ahead of Christmas.
Yellow weather warnings for wind are in force until 21:00 GMT for Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the north and west of England.
On Sunday, winds of 50 to 60 mph are forecast, with the Met Office warning of gusts of up to 70 mph in exposed coastal and hilly areas – a gust of 82 mph was recorded at South Uist on the Western Isles on Saturday.
The weather led to the cancellation of some ferry services and flights, road closures to high-sided vehicles and rail disruptions.
Heathrow said around 100 flights were canceled on Sunday and passengers are advised to check with their airline before traveling.
A British Airways spokesperson said on Saturday that poor weather conditions and restrictions on the number of flights that could take off and land had led to “a small number of cancellations”.
They added: “We are offering free flight changes to customers booked on short-haul services who do not wish to travel this weekend, and we will, as always, offer rebooking and refund options to those whose travels are disrupted as a result. restrictions. »
Motoring experts have said it will be the busiest travel weekend of the year, with the RAC warning it could be a “quite an exhausting experience” and urging drivers to “be patient”.
Ferry company DFDS has announced it has canceled seven services between Dover and Calais due to strong winds.
Ferries operating around Scotland and to Northern Ireland have also been cancelled.
P&O Ferries said journeys between Larne and Cairnryan had been canceled until at least 8pm on Sunday.
NorthLink Ferries said it had canceled all its sailings for the day, while CalMac canceled a number of services and warned of “possible disruption” on other routes.
Network Rail has warned that strong winds could “have serious consequences for the railway, with delays and train cancellations”.
ScotRail warned that speed restrictions could be applied to all of its services, while Great Western Rail said trains would not run between Exeter Central and Okehampton or Barnstaple until around 6pm, due to weather conditions.
On the roads, the National Highways said the A66 was closed in both directions to high-sided vehicles between the A1M and M6 due to high winds.
The A19 Tees Flyover between the A66 and A1046 is also closed to high-sided vehicles.
On Saturday, a number of ferries between Northern Ireland and Scotland were canceled, speed restrictions were put in place on some trains in Scotland, a “small number of flights” were canceled at the airport from Heathrow due to “strong winds and airspace restrictions”, and some road closures in exposed areas. areas, due to strong winds.
RAC spokesman Rod Dennis warned motorists about driving conditions: “With the weekend bringing a mix of strong winds and heavy showers, and in some wintry locations, showers will make Many of the estimated seven million getaway trips by car are a pretty exhausting experience. “.
He urged drivers to “be patient”, adding: “These are journeys that matter to us at this time of year, don't expect to get there the minute your navigation system tells you to.”
“Give yourself some time to make it easier and get there safely.”
The RAC predicts that congestion hotspots could include:
Both directions of the M1 to Gatwick via the M25 and M23Liverpool to Chester on the M53Oxford to the South Coast via the A34 and the M3The M25 to the South Coast along the M3Taunton Interchange at Almondsbury in Bristol down the M5.
The AA has warned of a “perfect storm” of Christmas getaways and bad weather, with 22.7 million drivers expected to hit the road on Saturday and 21.3 million on Sunday.
Winds are expected to ease by Monday, but it “absolutely does not” look like a white Christmas, according to Met Office meteorologist Alex Deakin.
Instead, the UK will experience “a gray Christmas” which “will be very, very mild”, he said, with cloud and rain expected to move in.
Off the roads, the first of the rail closures taking place over the festive period began on Saturday, with a section of the Midland Main line closed between London St Pancras and Bedford until December 29 as projects cost £29m sterling are completed. This will affect travel to Luton Airport.
The engineering works will also affect other stations over Christmas, including Paddington and Liverpool Street in London, as well as the Cambridge and Crewe areas.
When asked why so many trains were canceled over Christmas to allow for works, at a time when people might be more likely to take leisure trips and use trains if they are available, Robert Nisbet, director of nations and regions at the Rail Delivery Group, which represents National Rail and train operators, said “a lot of thought” had gone into the closures and that the festive period was chosen because “overall, fewer people were traveling.”
He added that the engineering works would improve services and reliability.
Meanwhile, the Port of Dover says it expects 25,000 cars to pass through this weekend.
