The UK has seen its warmest Christmas Eve in more than two decades.
Temperatures in Heathrow, south-west London, hit 15.3C on Sunday, well above average for the time of year, making it the warmest December 24 since 1997.
Met Office forecaster Liam Eslick told the PA news agency: “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.”
Christmas Day is also set to be the hottest in years with parts of the UK expected to hit 14C.
In London a high of 13C is forecast with light rain changing to overcast in the afternoon. Temperatures dip in the capital on Boxing Day however, with a high of 9C expected.
A White Christmas has been ruled out for most of the country, apart from the mountains of northern Scotland.
Temperatures have been well above the December average today with a top temperature of 15.3°C, making today provisionally the warmest Christmas Eve since 1997 🌡️ pic.twitter.com/FVawNpMfUl
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 24, 2023
Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: “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 December 25 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.
Mr Stroud said the UK is drawing in southern, warmer air.
Monday is set to be damp for much of the country, with heavy rain possible in Wales.
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.
Forecasters say gusts of up to 56mph hit parts of the Isle of Wight and Northern Ireland on Sunday morning.
Wind speeds of up to 70mph were recorded in Scotland later in the day, reaching 60mph in the north-east of England.
