People across most of the UK should be safe to leave their winter layers and umbrellas at home on Christmas Day, as unseasonably mild weather continues.
Highs of between 11C and 13C are predicted, lower than the warmest Christmas on record in 1920 when the temperature in Devon was 15.6C.
A blanket of cloud will greet early risers on Christmas morning, with the risk of rain around the Great Glen of the UK’s Western and Northern Isles and Highlands.
Christmas Eve will be the hottest day of this year’s festive week with temperatures expected to reach 15C in north-east Wales.
On 25 December, spells of rain can be expected in Scotland and Northern Ireland but the rest of the UK will remain dry. It is predicted.
Boxing Day will be an almost spot-the-difference affair when we look out our windows.
Lear said the first signs of change would come late on Friday, as north-westerly winds introduce colder air into Scotland.
But those chasing the dream of a white Christmas will have to look to Europe this year.
Fresh snow is expected in northern Scandinavia, the Apennine Mountains of central Italy and parts of the Balkans.
Christmas Day Weather Records
- gave The hottest On Christmas Day 1920 in Calerton, Devon, the temperature reached 15.6C.
- gave wet In 2015 when Capel Craig, Gwynedd received 165.4 mm of rain
- gave The fastest Christmas ever In 2011, Silla Ness in Shetland was recorded with gusts of up to 101 mph (162 km/h).
- And The coldest Christmas was recorded at Gainsford, Durham, shivering in 1878 with a temperature of -18.2C.