The UK has experienced its warmest Christmas Eve in more than 20 years.
Temperatures in Heathrow, south-west London, hit 15.3C on Sunday, well above average for the time of year, making it the warmest 24 December since 1997.
Met Office forecaster Liam Eslick said: “It’s been an exceptionally mild couple of days across all of the UK, temperatures have been well above average for the time of year, the maximum for December being 7C. Temperatures today have reached 15C in quite a few locations across the UK, the highest being 15.3C in two locations – one in Heathrow and one in Cippenham, Berkshire.”
And while children across the UK may be dreaming of a white Christmas, unless they find themselves alongside some hardy sheep on high ground in Scotland they are likely to be disappointed.
Most of the UK can instead expect a damp, blowy and unseasonably warm Christmas Day, with temperatures up to 12 or 13C in the south of England.
Forecasters said it was unlikely that the record for the warmest Christmas Day on record – set in Killerton, Devon, in 1920, when the temperature reached 15.6C – would be broken, but temperatures would still be 5-6C warmer than normal for this time of year.
Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said on Sunday: “The temperatures will peak today, there is a slight downward trend in temperatures for Christmas Day but we’re still expecting them to be comfortably above average.
“We’re looking at 13 and 14C tomorrow, we’re probably looking the warmest Christmas Day since 2016, when we actually hit 15.1C.”
The warmest 25 December on record was 15.6C in 1920, while the highest Christmas Eve temperatures of 15.5C were set in Aberdeen and Banff in Scotland in 1931.
Two separate yellow wind warnings were issued by the Met Office in Scotland and northern and central areas of England for Christmas Eve, saying people should expect travel disruption, damage to buildings and power cuts, while the rest of the country may see showers. A rain warning is in place for Wales, where there has been heavy rain for several days.
The weather has not helped an already chaotic travel situation in the UK, with the AA warning of “lengthy” traffic jams and longer journeys. The Severn Bridge in Gloucestershire was closed in both directions on Sunday afternoon due to strong winds. The Humber Bridge in East Yorkshire was also closed to high-sided vehicles.
On the railways, weather-related cancellations compounded woes caused by major engineering works at Paddington and King’s Cross in London, and crew shortages on a number of train operators. From Christmas Eve, Paddington station is closed for four days, while there will also be no long-distance train services from King’s Cross.
West Midlands Railway and London Northwestern Railway, Northern and Chiltern Railways all said they were facing crew shortages while the east coast mainline and ScotRail saw disruption on Christmas Eve because of the weather.
Links to mainland Europe have also been affected by Storm Pia, with strikes in France causing cancellations on the Eurostar.
People travelling to visit family and friends or get away from fractious festivities on Christmas Eve have been warned to beware of strong winds causing flying debris and power cuts.
The weather warnings are due to expire at midnight, but the weather on Christmas Day would remain gusty and damp, said Eslick.
“It only takes one snowflake to fall for it to be declared a white Christmas,” he said. “And it’s not out of the question that we will see a few flakes, but it’s probably going to be at 200 metres elevation, probably in Scotland, and not that many people will be there to see it. For most of the UK it is still quite a blustery day, and quite a breezy one for people who are looking to get out and about.”
The best time to set out to walk off the excesses of Christmas Day is likely to be Boxing Day, as a ridge of high pressure builds in the UK, with bright sunny spells in Scotland and the north, with more cloud in the south. “If people are looking to get out over the bank holiday, Boxing Day is probably the best day for it is going to be quite calm, quite nice and those temperatures will come down a bit but still be quite mild.”
