Met Office forecasts mild Christmas with notably high temperatures

The Met Office has forecast a “mild Christmas” with “notably high temperatures” over the festive period.

The weather service said conditions “should not play a factor” in any disruption to roads over the next few days as people travel home for Christmas. Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said it would be a “mild Christmas” for many with “notably high temperatures” over the festive period, adding that this “doesn’t necessarily bring sunny skies unfortunately”. Mr Claydon told the PA news agency: “The key notable factor of the weather through this week really is the mild conditions and higher temperatures. “The risk of ice and any snow that we had over the weekend has diminished, and no notable heavy rain should bring any impacts to the transport network.” He added that Christmas Eve on Tuesday was expected to be the mildest day with 14C and “potentially even up to 15C in some places”. Mr Claydon said a mild Christmas Eve could be “quite widespread” from Torbay in Devon to the north east of Scotland, adding that temperatures in Scotland and Northern Ireland were “markedly above average for the time of year”. The Met Office spokesman said Christmas Day on Wednesday would be a “little bit less mild” with “highs of 13C and maybe 14C”. He added that temperatures would “tail off slowly” towards the end of the week. The prediction comes as the Christmas getaway period nears its end. AA president Edmund King said the UK’s roads have “coped relatively well with the traffic”. He went on: “With Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday, drivers have already had four different days to travel. “Most journeys have been relatively short, and the majority have been under 50 miles. “Strategic roads and motorways near shopping centres have suffered the brunt of the congestion alongside some of the roads affected by adverse weather in Scotland and the North.” The AA is forecasting there will be around 22.7 million drivers on the road on Monday, with 21.6 million on Christmas Eve. Belfast City Airport was forced to enact emergency procedures on Sunday after a plane’s nose wheel collapsed as it landed. The incident forced the runway to close for the rest of the day. In a statement on social media early on Monday, the airport confirmed the affected runway “has reopened and is operating as normal”. Heathrow Airport was also running as normal on Monday after around 100 flights were cancelled on Sunday amid strong winds. Several Loganair flights from Glasgow Airport to the Hebridean islands were also cancelled, and 18 CalMac ferry routes were axed. Disruption continued as people were ferried to Ireland on alternative routes after the temporary closure of Holyhead port in an effort to get people home for Christmas. The strongest wind speed over the weekend was 82mph recorded at Kirkwall on Orkney and the South Uist Range in the Outer Hebrides. The weekend’s lowest temperature was recorded at Killylane in Co Antrim, Northern Ireland, where the mercury fell to minus 0.4C on Sunday.

Published: 23/12/2024 by Radio NewsHub