Met Office issues yellow weather warning as fog blankets parts of UK

Transport networks across England and Wales faced significant disruption as the Met Office issued a yellow weather warning for dense fog. The 10-hour warning took effect at midnight and remained active until 10am, though forecasters indicated that patches could persist into the afternoon.

The yellow weather warning covered 33 designated areas. According to official reporting, the affected regions in England included the East Midlands, East of England, London and South East England, North West England, South West England, the West Midlands, and Yorkshire and Humber. In Wales, the alert took in Denbighshire, Monmouthshire, Powys, Torfaen, and Wrexham.

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The timing of the weather event brought major challenges for the civic calendar. Thousands of people planned to travel to services, parades, and memorial events, including national gatherings in London where roads around Whitehall faced closures. The dense mist posed familiar risks for motorists, slowing road traffic and potentially affecting rail services and ferry crossings.

Visibility varied sharply across the country. While some locations experienced light mist, dense patches reduced visibility to less than 100 metres, with certain areas falling below 50 metres overnight. These hazardous conditions followed a recent multi-car pile-up on the M20 in Kent, which had been attributed to poor visibility.

Aviation was placed on alert as air traffic controllers managed reduced arrival spacing and instrument landing systems. Major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, London City, and Stansted sat within or near the warning zone. Low visibility can restrict the rate at which aircraft land and depart, leading to potential knock-on delays.

Road safety advice was issued by National Highways and local authorities. Motoring guidance emphasized using dipped headlights rather than full beams, which can reflect off water droplets and create a white wall effect. Rear fog lights were restricted to conditions where visibility drops below 100 metres.

Tom Morgan, a meteorologist at the Met Office, explained the evolving situation on Sunday morning.

"Most of the fog now is starting to lift and clear, and the visibilities aren’t as bad as they were earlier. But nonetheless, if you are travelling, give yourself some extra time for your journey, use fog lights if you have them. Be prepared, perhaps, for some travel disruption. That means slower journey times, etc."

Tom Morgan, Meteorologist, Met Office

Mr Morgan added that the fog would be less of an issue over the following days, which could bring dry weather across most of the country and even sunny spells for some. High pressure was expected to dominate, which remains bad news for southern regions in particular, experiencing severe drought conditions that have persisted for several months. Much of the country remains officially in drought, with a severe drought in place across parts of the South West and Sussex.

The dry conditions in the coming days mean many could be out for events such as Bonfire Night, though forecasters noted that high pressure could trap smoke and lead to poor visibilities at times. This followed a notably wet week across England caused by Storms Austen and Boelo, which brought heavy rain, increased river levels, and strong winds.

Further updates from the Met Office and transport operators are expected as conditions clear and normal services resume across affected regions.