Christmas forecasted to be mild for most
People in much of the UK should be able to safely leave their winter coats and umbrellas at home on Christmas Day as a string of unseasonably mild weather continues.
Maximum temperatures are expected to be between 11 and 13 degrees Celsius, down from the hottest Christmas on record in 1920, when Devon recorded 15.6 degrees Celsius.
Early risers will be greeted by a cloud cover on Christmas morning, with the threat of rain around the UK’s western and northern islands and the Highland Glens.
Christmas Eve will be the warmest day of the festive week this year, with temperatures expected to reach 15C in north-east Wales.
Showers are possible in Scotland and Northern Ireland on December 25, but the rest of the UK is expected to remain dry.
BBC Weather’s Louise Lear said Boxing Day was “almost a hunt for differences”.
Lear said the first signs of change would appear later on Friday as north-westerly winds bring cold air across Scotland.
But those chasing the dream of a white Christmas will have to look to Europe this year.
Fresh snow is expected in parts of northern Scandinavia, the Apennines in central Italy and the Balkans.
Christmas day weather records
- this the warmest Christmas 1920 was a pleasant 15.6 degrees Celsius in Killerton, Devon
- this the wettest In 2015, the rainfall in Capel Curig, Gwynedd was 165.4 mm
- this The strongest Christmas wind Wind gusts of up to 101 mph (162 km/h) were recorded in Celanese, Shetland Islands in 2011
- besides the coldest Christmas Day was recorded in Gainford, Durham, where temperatures shivered at -18.2C in 1878.
