Drivers have been warned to be “very cautious” on Britain’s roads after forecasts of strong winds and rain that threaten to cause long delays at the start of the Christmas getaway. The worst of the weather will occur Thursday afternoon, shortly after term time finishes for many schools in the south of England, with traffic on the roads expected to increase and peak on Friday. According to motoring organisations road congestion could be worse than last year. The RAC expected 13.5m “leisure” journeys to be made by car between Friday and Christmas Eve. The AA said that more than two in five motorists are expected to be on the roads on Friday. The transport analysts Inrix said daily delays of about 40 minutes from 22 to 24 December were expected, with the worst hold-ups on the M25 clockwise from London. Snarl ups were also expected on the M1 north from Woburn, Bedfordshire, and on the M6 south from Wigan to Stafford. After Met Office weather warnings across the UK, an AA spokesperson said: “Many places across the UK are likely to see strong winds and rain in the run-up to Christmas, so it’s very likely trees and debris will be littering the roads. Drivers should be very cautious, especially in rural or woody areas.” Drivers were advised to set out before 11am or after 6pm to reduce the chance of being stuck in long queues. National Highways said it would remove more than 1,000 miles of roadworks on England’s motorways for the Christmas period. On the railways, Network Rail said that there would be fewer engineering works than usual overall but passengers on some routes would need to plan travel to avoid transport disruption. The London Paddington rail station will be closed between Christmas Eve and 27 December, so no mainline trains will be serving Heathrow airport during that period. London King’s Cross station will also be closed on Christmas Eve. No trains will operate on Christmas Day, and there is a very limited service running on Boxing Day. Avanti West Coast, the main intercity train service from London to Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow, said engineering work would mean an earlier finish to services on Christmas Eve and a later start to serviceson 27 December. It will also operate a reduced timetable on other days into the new year, with services hit by widespread staff absences. Avanti has removed all peak fares for the festive period and advised passengers to plan ahead and book. Millions of people will be going overseas, and airports expect one of their busiest periods. A Heathrow airport forecast anticipates 6.5 million passengers to travel through this month, with tens of thousands departing on Christmas Day. Friday is expected to be the busiest day of the festive season for many airlines and UK airports, including London Gatwick. The airline easyJet said it would have its busiest ever Christmas Day this year around Europe, and Tenerife would be its passengers’ most popular hotspot for celebrating Christmas in the sun.