Storm Arwen causes major travel disruption in the UK

People across the country have been caught up in the travel disruption (Owen Humphreys/PA)

People across the UK have been faced with travel disruption as Storm Arwen led to the closure of roads and rail routes.

The Met Office had issued weather warnings overnight and in the early hours of Saturday, with parts of the UK seeing 100mph gales and snow.

National Rail has a warning on its website saying “severe weather” has affected rail routes in England, Scotland and Wales, urging customers to “check” services before travelling.

CrossCountry trains said the line between Newcastle and Edinburgh is closed all day, while other lines have been affected by trees and debris on the tracks.

Strong gales and snow have hit parts of the UK (Owen Humphreys/PA)

Grand Central, London North Eastern Railway, Lumo, Northern and TransPennine Express services all advised passengers “not to travel” across the north-east of England on Saturday.

Chris Halpin, of Network Rail, said: “I’m afraid Storm Arwen is causing lots of disruption across the railway network and we’re working as fast as we can to try and deal with it."

He added: “Now we’ve had very strong winds overnight and we’ve also had wintry weather which has blocked some lines.

It’s caused trees to come down on parts of the network and we’ve also got freezing conditions as well.

Councils and police forces in the UK have also reported a number of road closures due to fallen trees or snow.

Sports fans were among those affected, with Liverpool advising fans to “arrive early” due to disruption to travel routes around Anfield ahead of the match against Southampton.

Road closures have been reported due to fallen trees (Nick Potts/PA)

In Ireland, Met Éireann warned that strong winds and cold conditions will continue throughout Saturday.

It is expected to be cold and breezy for the rest of the day with some showers, mainly in the Ulster area with the possibility of some turning wintry on high ground.

Got plans this Saturday evening? Here's your weather forecast.
Breezy & cold for the rest of the day, remaining dry. Few showers, mostly over Ulster, with some turning wintry on high ground 🥶
Northerly winds will ease through the evening with frost forming in any clear spells. pic.twitter.com/K4CiLWMB3N

— Met Éireann (@MetEireann) November 27, 2021

Sunday will be cloudy and damp to start with outbreaks of rain that will become more isolated in the afternoon with some sunny spells also developing. 

It will be milder with highs of 7 to 10 Celsius, mildest in the West.