Brits have been warned of a cold snap bringing potential snow on Boxing Day as a mild Christmas Day gives way to below average conditions.
Temperatures have been milder this week as northerly winds blew away the freezing Arctic air.
It is unlikely to continue however, as forecasters at the Met Office say the mercury may plummet again after this weekend to around -13C in some places.
There may be "wintry showers" in the south after December 25 as well as heavy snow showers in Scotland where people have been warned of potential power interruptions, as well as disruption with travel.
A yellow warning is in place from 9pm Christmas Day to 6pm on Boxing Day.
Met Office Deputy Chief Meteorologist David Oliver said: “An unsettled Christmas weekend is on the way for many, with those in the north and west seeing the most frequent and the heaviest showers.
“High winds will affect some coasts through the weekend with gales in places, especially the north and west.
“Christmas Day will be unsettled for many, with the most frequent showers in the northern half of the UK and some more sporadic and mostly lighter showers further south.
“There is some uncertainty about the timing of colder air from the northwest, but it looks like this will introduce some snow showers to the northwest of Scotland late on Christmas Day.”
The Met Office needs only to record a single snowflake falling between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day to mark a white Christmas.
Britain's last fully-white Christmas was in 2010 when the country faced an abnormally cold winter, and since 1960, around half the years have seen snow fall in at least 5% of areas recorded by the Met Office.
It comes as an Arctic blast is said to be on its way with bone-chilling temperatures and the snowiest period in 12 years.
The nation could be set to freeze in January as the mercury plunges to bone-chilling lows.
James Madden, the forecaster for Exacta Weather, told GB News : “Temperatures will drop in the run up to Christmas and this could bring the risk of snow to parts of the country, some of which may fall to lower levels.
“The rest of December and January are showing signs of frequent spells of cold wintry weather with below-average temperatures and numerous wintry blasts.”
The relatively balmy conditions here are vastly different to those faced in the US where a huge winter storm is set to bring the coldest Christmas in four decades to parts of the US, with the mercury set to plummet to a bone-chilling -45C.
Nicknamed Winter Storm Elliot by the Weather Channel , alerts have been put out across 37 states - home to 92 million people - to prepare people for the sub-zero temperatures.
It has been dubbed a “kitchen sink” as it will throw not only freezing conditions at people but also snow, high winds and even heavy rain.
