Celebrations are held at the London Eye every New Year's Eve

Hundreds of thousands of revellers around the UK are gathering in temperatures close to freezing to see in the new year.

Fireworks will be held at the London Eye along the Thames.

Displays are also being held in Cardiff but there are no civic events planned in Belfast.

There will be fireworks in Glasgow and 80,000 people are expected in Edinburgh but celebrations have been cancelled in Inverness because of severe weather.

In Edinburgh, partygoers gathered in the city centre long before the bells to find good vantage points for the music stages and fireworks display.

In Glasgow 10,000 revellers have packed into George Square for the city’s sell-out Hogmanay party, headlined by Deacon Blue.

Thousands are expected in Stonehaven on the east coast of Scotland for the annual fireballs festival, which has been held for about 150 years.

Snow showers

Temperatures are expected to be -2C (28F) in Aberdeen, -4C (25F) in Glasgow, -1C (30F) in Birmingham, 1C (34F) in London, 0C (32F) in Cardiff and -1C (30F) in Belfast.

BBC weather forecaster Laura Tobin said generally conditions would be cold and clear around midnight on New Year’s Eve.

But 10-15cm (4-6in) of snow is expected in the north-east of Scotland around Moray and Aberdeenshire, with snow showers also expected in the north-east of England around Newcastle and Leeds.

There will also be a line of sleet and snow showers in Kent and Sussex, our forecaster added.

The Metropolitan Police urged those heading for central Westminster to watch the New Year’s Eve firework display to arrive early.

Mayor Boris Johnson said London’s display would show the world that “the most exciting city on Earth” is looking forward to the future with “optimism and energy”.

Mr Johnson will not attend the display and will bring in the new year with his family, his spokeswoman said, who added that deputy mayor Richard Barnes would be present at the show.

It is also expected to be a cold day for London’s 24th annual parade, which starts at 1200 GMT on New Year’s Day from Berkeley Street.

The event in Inverness was cancelled as road and pavement conditions were considered too treacherous.

Ch Insp Andrew MacLean, of the Northern Constabulary, said: “For reasons of public safety, we made a recommendation to the organisers and they have decided to cancel the Hogmanay party tonight.”

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Six people were airlifted to safety after drifting snow left their cars stranded on a rural road.

Mountain rescuers and an RAF helicopter were called to the road between Middleton-in-Teesdale, County Durham, and Brough in Cumbria.

The motorists were taken to safety at Middleton and Kirkby Stephen.

Volunteers from Teesdale and Weardale and Kirkby Stephen mountain rescue teams were involved in the operation on Wednesday evening.

Dave Bartles-Smith, leader of the County Durham team, said: “We would like to remind motorists the we have some of the highest roads in England in County Durham.

“These roads can become impassable very quickly if the wind blows snow across them.

“Can we ask motorists who may use these roads to consider the conditions before they set out and to carry warm cloths, food and a shovel.”

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Streets were covered with a blanket of snow in Hope Valley near Buxton, Derbyshire, after heavy flurries fell across several parts of England.

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There may have still been some snow on the ground and a bite in the air, but Boxing Day proved to be one of the busiest days of the year for one Bristol business –an ice cream van.

Kool Ices, which is based at the Sea Walls by the Avon Gorge, sold more than 100 ice creams and lollies to peckish walkers –as many as it would on a sunny summer’s day.

Jerry Packer, 40, from Knowle, braved the chilly temperatures to serve his ice cream and bring a post-Christmas smile to families out for a stroll across the Downs, a job he has done for the past 18 years.

Mr Packer said: “Boxing Day we took as much as any other day of the year, as much as a brisk day in the week in the middle of August.”

Kool Ices, which is based in Knowle, is a family company owned by John Miller.

Mr Packer, an ice cream man for the past 18 years, alternates running the van with his mother, Penny Spratt, and friend Iain Padfield, who was serving on Sunday.

With another van that travels around Bristol, they are out and about all year round. After eight years at the Sea Walls site the Kool Ices van has become well known in the city.

TV star Justin Lee Collins and Coronation Street actor David Neilson, who plays Roy Cropper, are among the van’s previous customers. Mr Packer said: “The van is at the site every day of the year, except in the few weeks before Christmas when people are out shopping for presents. It is a great spot, and it is the best job in the world. In the summer, when you are here serving ice cream at 10pm and watching the sun go down, it is a great way to earn a living.”

And people may find it unusual to see an ice cream van out and about when the temperatures are freezing, but rumbling tummies and sweet teeth often win over.

Mr Packer said: “People come up and laugh and say ‘I didn’t expect to see you here today, it’s far too cold’ and then they go and buy an ice cream.”

http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Bristol-ice-cream-van-selling-snow/article-1654362-detail/article.html

The SAIS gives advice on conditions on Scotland's mountains

Climbers are being warned of a continued risk of avalanches the day after three people lost their lives on Scottish mountains.

Two people died on the north face of Ben Nevis and a third died in hospital after being rescued from Torridon.

Two other climbers were rescued from a third avalanche in Argyll.

The sportscotland Avalanche Information Service (SAIS) said the risk of avalanche continued to be high because of unusual snow and ice conditions.

The SAIS said there was a moderate or considerable risk in Glencoe and Lochaber, with a high risk in parts of the north and south Cairngorms and Creag Meagaidh.

Icy roads

The forecasts on its website cover the period until 1800 GMT on Thursday.

Meanwhile, forecasters have issued a severe weather warning for heavy snow in parts of Scotland, with a covering of 15cm (6in) expected over higher levels.

Severe weather warnings are also in place for icy roads in central Tayside and Fife, south-west Scotland, Lothian and Borders, Grampian, Strathclyde, Orkney and Shetland and the Highlands and Western Isles (Eilean Siar).

On Wednesday, a 54-year-old man died in hospital after being rescued from an avalanche on Liatach Ridge, Torridon.

The climber, who is believed to be from Derbyshire, had been flown to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness by a coastguard helicopter.

Highly-experienced

Earlier, the bodies of two people were discovered in Number Three Gully on the north face of Ben Nevis.

It is understood that one of the climbers was from the Wiltshire area, while the other was from Wales.

They were in a group of five highly-experienced climbers who were caught up in the avalanche.

Ch Insp John Chisholm of Northern Constabulary said they were all well-equipped and European-accredited, but “it appears they were in the wrong place at the wrong time”.

The SAIS said unusually calm and extremely cold weather had raised the risk of avalanches in Scotland’s mountains.

The service have been monitoring surface hoar, a phenomenon rarely seen in Scotland.

The snow crystals form a slippery layer when buried under snow and are the cause of many avalanches in the Alps and North America.

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24hr Graph for 30th December 2009

Average temperature = 2.5°C
Average humidity = 95%
Average dewpoint = 1.7°C
Average barometer = 990.7 mb
Average windspeed = 5.7 mph
Average gustspeed = 13.2 mph
Average direction = 45° ( NE)
Rainfall for month = 83.1 mm
Rainfall for year = 1166.5 mm
Rainfall for day = 5.0 mm
Maximum rain per minute = 0.4 mm on day 30 at time 08:25
Maximum temperature = 3.8°C on day 30 at time 15:21
Minimum temperature = 1.4°C on day 30 at time 07:42
Maximum humidity = 95% on day 30 at time 18:04
Minimum humidity = 93% on day 30 at time 23:50
Maximum dewpoint = 3.1°C on day 30 at time 15:21
Minimum dewpoint = 0.7°C on day 30 at time 7:43
Maximum pressure = 996.2 mb on day 30 at time 23:47
Minimum pressure = 987.9 mb on day 30 at time 06:17
Maximum windspeed = 10.4 mph on day 30 at time 22:55
Maximum gust speed = 20 mph from 090 °( E ) on day 30 at time 23:28
Maximum heat index = 3.8°C on day 30 at time 15:21