A yellow Cold‑Health Alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency for the South West of England from 18:00 on Thursday 25 December to 12:00 on Saturday 27 December. In parallel, the Met Office has a yellow wind warning from 04:00 until 23:59 on 25 December for much of Wales and parts of South West England. Forecasters also indicate a largely dry picture and no widespread white Christmas.
The Met Office expects a brisk easterly to north‑easterly flow with peak gusts widely around 45–55mph, reaching 55–65mph along exposed coasts and to the west of high ground. Given the less usual wind direction, the forecaster highlights potential disruption to transport and power supplies and the risk of large waves along some coasts. Delays affecting high‑sided vehicles on exposed routes and bridges are considered likely.
Under UKHSA’s impact‑based system, a yellow Cold‑Health Alert signals conditions that could have minor impacts on health and social care, including increased service use among vulnerable groups and a greater risk to life for those at highest risk. Cold‑Health Alerts operate each winter from 1 November to 31 March.
Commissioners, Integrated Care Boards and Directors of Public Health should move to yellow‑level actions set out in UKHSA’s Cold‑Health Alert action cards: reinforce communications to at‑risk cohorts, step up proactive contact and welfare checks, review surge capacity in urgent care, and liaise with Local Resilience Forums on mutual aid and outage contingencies. Providers should continue to promote minimum indoor temperatures of at least 18°C for older people and those with chronic conditions.
Adult social care and community health teams are advised to confirm daily visiting and call‑back arrangements for high‑risk patients, ensure basic home checks on heating, medicines and food, and escalate any signs of deterioration promptly to clinical leads. Managers in residential settings should prioritise heating system reliability and readiness for overnight frosts.
Coastal risk remains elevated. Organisers have cancelled several festive dips on safety grounds, including Teignmouth RNLI’s Boxing Day “Walk in the Sea”. With strong easterlies and large waves flagged by the Met Office, local authorities and event organisers should continue to discourage informal sea swims while warnings remain in force.
Transport and utilities operators should prepare for short‑term power interruptions and route restrictions, particularly on exposed bridges and upland corridors. Public messaging should advise against unnecessary travel in the most exposed locations and emphasise caution for high‑sided vehicles.
The broader forecast is for settled but colder conditions under high pressure, so wind‑chill will make temperatures feel lower than readings suggest. Widespread nighttime frost is likely in rural areas once winds ease. Service planners should anticipate persistent cold‑related demand even after today’s wind risk subsides.
For ongoing operational awareness, organisations should monitor Met Office warning updates through the day and ensure key teams are registered for UKHSA Weather‑Health Alerts. UKHSA’s national guidance, including the Adverse Weather and Health Plan and cold‑weather action cards, remains the reference point for decisions across health, social care and the responder community.