Christmas Day will be cold and windy in the UK, but the sun will shine for many, forecasters have predicted.
Many will wake up to a frosty Christmas Day morning as the Met Office reports that brisk winds picking up from Christmas Eve will make the slightly below-average temperatures feel close to freezing for much of the country.
While the forecaster have cast doubt on prospects of a white Christmas for most people, there’s a small chance that a smattering of snow may fall on Dartmoor, as afternoon rain showers push into parts of Devon and Cornwall.
Christmas Day and Boxing Day swimmers in the south could face big waves due to easterly winds. Christmas Eve and Day will be dry and sunny for most with cloudier weather expected in the east.
Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: “It will turn colder from Christmas Eve, with a strong wind across much of England and Wales, so temperatures on the thermometer will be a little bit below average: around 6C or 7C as a max, generally.
“And then when you add on that wind chill of an easterly wind, it will probably feel more like freezing from Christmas Eve onwards.”
Weather maps show that most areas will see temperatures peak at 4C or 5C during the Christmas period. Temperatures are forecast to plummet below freezing overnight across much of the country, with northern Scotland potentially reaching minus 5C.
Clouds could accumulate in some southern counties on Boxing Day but elsewhere will remain largely dry with sunny spells.
“It’s a bit colder than average, not unusual for the time of year, but in terms of averages it would be a bit below”, Ms Mitchell said.
“The weather’s all very similar really, out towards New Year’s Eve. The Christmas period is quite a nice forecast.”
This is a colder Christmas than the UK has seen in recent years, making it too close to call whether 2025 will break records as the country’s hottest year. Currently the mean temperature value for the year so far, up to 21 December, is tracking well ahead of the previous highest year set in 2022. The mean temperature is currently predicted to settle at 10.05C, compared with 2022’s record-breaking 10.03C.
If the record is confirmed, this will be only the second year in observational records where the UK’s annual mean temperature has exceeded 10.0C.
Tuesday evening:
Outbreaks of rain across Scotland fading, otherwise mostly dry. Cloudy for many with a few breaks developing to the west of any hills. Breezy away from the north.
Wednesday:
Mostly dry with variable amounts of cloud. Some sunny spells, these typically in the south and west. Windy across much of England and Wales. Feeling colder than Tuesday.
Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
Cloud breaking through the Christmas period with more sunny spells emerging. Largely dry, but also feeling cold with a notable wind chill across England and Wales. Frosty by night.
