High winds and heavy rain battering the UK have caused travel problems and the cancellation of a swathe of new year events including firework displays and a bathtub race that takes place in Europe’s largest natural harbour.

The predicted strong winds led to the cancellation of displays heralding the arrival of 2025 in places including Blackpool, Newcastle’s quayside, the Isle of Wight and Ripon, North Yorkshire, joining the already cancelled Hogmanay festival in Edinburgh.

In Lowestoft, Suffolk, two firework displays scheduled for New Year’s Day were postponed until Saturday. The organisers said safety was the overriding concern.

A spokesperson for Newcastle city council said the cancellation of its New Year’s Eve fireworks was a tough decision but added: “The forecast has made it clear that continuing would pose risks to those attending, as well as our event teams working on site.

“We understand how disappointing this news will be for both residents and visitors, including those who’ve travelled to our city.”

The UK Met Office has a patchwork of weather warnings in place for different parts of the country until Thursday, with people advised to check forecasts for their area.

Steve Willington, a Met Office chief meteorologist, said: “Almost the entire UK is covered by at least one weather warning during the coming week, demonstrating that it is a complicated weather forecast at the moment.”

The most severe warning, an amber one for heavy rain in northern Scotland, is in place until 5pm on New Year’s Eve with wider yellow warnings for rain and snow in Scotland in place until midnight.

In north-west England and Wales there is a 24-hour yellow warning for heavy rain in place from 6pm on New Year’s Eve.

There is a yellow warning across Wales and southern parts of England for much of New Year’s Day, with predicted coastal winds of up to 75mph (120km/h). A yellow weather warning for strong winds was in place across Northern Ireland until 2pm on New Year’s Eve.

North Yorkshire has been hard hit by the weather, with Ripon city council cancelling a New Year’s Eve event in the Market Square, featuring music, dancing and fireworks, because of the expected high winds. The National Trust closed the Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal estate on Tuesday because of high winds and heavy rain.

On the roads, the A66 over the Pennines between Scotch Corner in North Yorkshire and the M6 at Penrith, Cumbria, was closed to “high-sided and vulnerable vehicles” – including all vans and motorcycles – because of the strong winds. National Highways announced the restriction at 5.26am on Tuesday.

A landslide closed the A832 between Fortrose and Avoch in the Scottish Highlands on Tuesday morning, with police warning it would be impassable for some time.

National Rail said the weather warnings for rain, wind and snow could affect services across the UK until Thursday and advised passengers to check before travelling.

In Poole, Dorset, the annual New Year’s Day bathtub race, in which for 40 years people have paddled along the quay in their homemade, mostly bodged boats, was cancelled. The local council said the expected “severity of the swell of the water” meant rescue ribs would be unable to launch.

The Rotary Club of Lyme Regis also cancelled its Lyme Lunge fancy dress sea dip on Wednesday because of forecast winds of 50-60mph, saying in a statement: “I think you will all agree that we must put the safety of Lungers first.”

London’s New Year’s Eve firework display on the Thames is still scheduled to go ahead, as authorities said the weather was being closely monitored.

While there will be fewer fireworks this year, the Met Office said there was at least a chance of seeing a natural display, the northern lights, in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England on New Year’s Eve. It will be mostly cloudy, forecasters said, but there could be “transient” clear spells between 6-9pm.