Significant events in the 2025–26 winter in Great Britain and Ireland included a cold wave in November that brought heavy snowfall, another cold wave at the start of 2026 during which four people died at sea, and a windstorm in January that caused widespread damage and killed one person.
Events November cold snap
Between 17 and 21 November 2025, the British Isles were struck by a cold wave which caused widespread disruption to infrastructure. According to the Met Office, the lowest temperature of the wave at was recorded during the early hours of 21 November at Tomintoul in Moray, Scotland, which was the lowest temperature recorded on a November night in 15 years. At 11 a.m. on 20 November, a snow depth of was recorded by the Met Office at two locations in the Scottish Highlands; a greater depth of was unofficially recorded in Crymych, a village in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
A persistent period of heavy rain from Storm Claudia, which brought severe flooding to some areas of the United Kingdom, was displaced by a high-pressure area moving in from the north that brought with it cold air. This area of cold air affected Scotland for a couple of days, leading to the country's first snowfall of the season in Inverness on 14 November as temperatures dropped to in Kinbrace. It then plunged southwards on 17 November, prompting the Met Office and UKHSA to issue a number of warnings relating to the forecasted freezing temperatures. Maximum temperatures were expected to drop by between 13 and 17 November.
On 17 November, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued an amber Cold-Health Alert (CHA) for the North East, North West and Yorkshire and the Humber regions, with a yellow CHA in place for the rest of England until 8 a.m. on 22 November. On 18 November, Met Éireann issued Status Yellow warnings for snow and ice from midnight that day to midday on 20 November for the counties of Cavan, Donegal, Monaghan, Leitrim and Sligo. Another Status Yellow warning for low temperatures was in force between 11 p.m. on 20 November until 8 a.m. on 21 November for the counties of Carlow, Kildare, Kilkenny, Laois, Longford, Meath, Offaly, Tipperary, Westmeath and Wicklow. The Met Office issued an amber weather warning for snow on 18 November, covering parts of Yorkshire between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m. on 20 November. Parts of South West England and southwestern Wales were covered by a yellow snow and ice warning from midday on 19 November to midnight the next day.
On 19 November, a gritter overturned on the A382 road on Dartmoor whilst preparing roads for the forecasted snow and ice; the driver sustained minor injuries. Over 40 schools were closed in northern Scotland and many roads were closed, including part of the A9 after a lorry jack-knifed. By 20 November over 100 schools had closed in north east Scotland due to heavy snowfall, with many more closing in other areas of the country as a snow depth of was recorded in Strathdon. Four flights were cancelled at Aberdeen Airport whilst two people were taken to hospital after a car hit a pedestrian in Aberdeen; travel on numerous roads including the A90 was disrupted due to traffic collisions and the closure of snow gates.
Seaford tornado
On 6 December, a tornado struck Seaford in East Sussex on the south coast of England, causing damage to several properties in the town. The tornado, which is believed to have started as a waterspout, made landfall in the early hours of the morning and was rated as a T3 on the TORRO scale, indicating windspeeds from . Around 40 properties were found to have sustained damage along a track which was long with a maximum width of . At a property close to the beach, a shed was destroyed, a roof's felt covering was peeled away and firewood was lifted and carried before being thrown through both a car and house window. One property had its greenhouse completely destroyed, whilst two sets of attached garages had their roofs torn off and thrown into nearby houses, causing significant damage.
Storm Bram
Storm Bram was named by Met Éireann on 8 December 2025 and brought strong winds and heavy rain to large areas of the country. A yellow wind warning was in place across south west England and west Wales from 10 p.m. on 8 December to 4 p.m. the next day, with further yellow warnings covering Northern Ireland from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. and much of Scotland and northern England from midday to midnight on 9 December. A further amber wind warning was issued for western Northern Ireland, in place from 2 to 7 p.m. on 9 December, whilst an amber warning covered north-west Scotland from 4 p.m. to 3 a.m. the following day. A red weather warning was also issued for the Isle of Man, where all flights and ferries were cancelled.
On 9 December, ESB Networks said around 25,000 properties in Ireland were without power, whilst a "few thousand" more were cut off in Northern Ireland. Part of a sea wall in Carrickfergus was washed away, causing heavy flooding nearby whilst crashing waves left debris on the A2 and A20 roads on the Ards Peninsula. Over 100 flights were cancelled across the island: more than 10 between Belfast City Airport and Great Britain, all Loganair flights at City of Derry Airport and a total of 91 at Dublin Airport. Several ferry services were also cancelled between Belfast and Cairnryan, Dublin to Holyhead, Larne and Cairnryan, and Rathlin Island and Ballycastle. Numerous bus services were also cancelled, as well as train services between and .
In Scotland, a number of power cuts were reported in several areas of the country, whilst multiple overturned vehicles forced the closure of the A74(M) on 9 December. Train services saw heavy disruption, particularly in the west and south west: a fallen tree damaged overhead lines on the Neilston Line, a train struck a trampoline south of Perth, part of the West Highland Line closed, the line between and closed, and speed restrictions were introduced on the Borders Railway and the East Coast Main Line. Two flights from London City Airport to Edinburgh Airport were cancelled, as well as several ferries including the Corran Ferry and sailings at Cairnryan Harbour.
At 5:30 p.m. on 9 December, over 1,600 properties were without power in south and west Wales after strong winds which also forced the closure of the Prince of Wales Bridge amid fears that corroded lampposts could collapse. Flooding led to the closure of many roads, including the A483, A487, A499 and A4042. All lines between and were closed due to flooding, whilst services between and were cancelled after a train hit a fallen tree. Flood warnings affected the rivers Cothi, Ritec, Teifi, Towy, Usk and Vyrnwy.
On 9 December, flooding in southern England during the storm led to four people being rescued in Thornford after multiple cars were flooded and another near Ringwood after their car was swept downstream from a ford. The following day further rescues took place, including two people in Teigngrace, another two near Whitford and several in Cornwall as the road through Weare Giffard was closed. Flood warnings were issued for the Plymouth Sound, the south coasts of Cornwall and Devon, and the rivers Avon, Axe, Dart, Fowey, Plym, Teign and Yealm. Part of the pier at West Hoe in Plymouth collapsed during the storm. A section of the M66 motorway was closed near Ramsbottom due to flooding and a traffic collision which damaged the central barrier. Train services were cancelled between and , and , and and due to flooding. The National Grid reported that over 4,000 homes were without power across England and Wales after the storm.
New Year's cold wave
Temperatures plunged across the British Isles at the start of 2026, leading to widespread warnings for snow and ice as well as amber cold-health alerts for all of England. On 28 December, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issued an amber cold-health alert for North East and North West England, in place from 8 p.m. that day to midday on 5 January, whilst the rest of England was under a yellow alert for the same period. At 8 p.m. on 31 December, this was upgraded to an amber alert for all of England and was extended to 10 a.m. on 6 January. Numerous weather warnings were issued by the Met Office, mostly for snow and ice: a yellow wind warning covered parts of north east Scotland from 9 p.m. on 31 December to 9 a.m. on 1 January; a yellow snow and ice warning covered northern Scotland from 6 a.m. on 1 January to midnight on 2 January; a yellow snow and ice warning covered Northern Ireland from midnight to 10 a.m. on 2 January; a yellow snow and ice warning covered parts of England and Wales from midnight to midday on 2 January; a yellow ice warning covered parts of South West England from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on 2 January; an amber snow warning covered parts of northern Scotland from midday on 2 January to midday on 3 January; an amber snow warning covered Shetland from midnight to midday on 3 January; a yellow snow warning covered the east coast of England for all of 3 January; and a yellow snow and ice warning covered Northern Ireland from midday on 3 January to midday on 5 January.
On 1 January, a man was pulled from the sea in Brighton after getting into difficulty and died whilst receiving medical treatment at the scene. On 2 January, a number of people got into difficulty in the sea at Withernsea, prompting a large search and rescue operation by HM Coastguard, Hornsea Inshore Rescue, Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, Humberside Police, the RNLI and Yorkshire Ambulance Service. One man was pulled from the water but died at the scene and a woman's body was recovered that evening, whilst a third person remained missing. The search was stood down at 4 p.m. on 3 January amid conditions described as "horrendous" with freezing temperatures, heavy snow and waves. The body of the missing 15-year-old girl was found on 15 January.
On 2 January, part of the A46 was closed after at least five vehicles slid off the road due to ice, the A38 was closed after a number of collisions and snow, and a slip road from the A453 to the M1 was closed due to a weather-related crash. Several snow gates were closed, including on the A93, A939 and B974, whilst travel was restricted on the A1 and A82. A bus crashed on the A952 and a car crash forced the closure of part of the A90 near Brechin, with both the A9 and A99 also fully closed between Helmsdale and Wick. During a 48-hour period, one response team rescued four ambulances stuck in snow and transported 48 members of NHS staff, whilst another group based in Fraserburgh rescued over 100 people stuck in cars and attended six traffic collisions in the same period, including a 12-vehicle pileup near New Leeds. No trains were running to or from and rail replacement buses were unable to run due to the snow, whilst the line between and was closed the following day as snow depths exceeded the height of the rails. By 3 January, a snow depth of was recorded at Tomintoul, with seven Scottish Professional Football League matches cancelled due to the weather. The following day, snow drifts of over were reported in Scotland, whilst travel disruption continued to worsen with Kirkwall and Sumburgh Airports closed and numerous flights out of Aberdeen Airport, including all from British Airways, KLM and Loganair cancelled. Hundreds of schools announced closures across northern Scotland, including 170 in Aberdeenshire alone.