Christmas Day could be one of warmest on record in UK, predicts Met Office
The UK is set to experience one of its hottest Christmases ever, with the Met Office forecasting temperatures that could be over 6°C higher than the usual average in certain areas.
A spell of unusually warm weather came just in time for Christmas Eve, with meteorologists predicting that automated weather stations will register temperatures between 13 and 14 degrees Celsius in many parts of Britain. In some areas, like northeast Wales, temperatures could even reach 15 degrees Celsius.
Although Christmas Day is predicted to be slightly cooler, with temperatures around a degree less, it will still be significantly warmer than the usual 6-7°C for this season. In fact, it will be nearing the highest recorded Christmas temperature in the UK, which was 15.6°C in 1920 at Killerton in Devon.
“It may not have the chilly, bright winter weather that many enjoy on Christmas Day, but at least it looks like it will mainly be dry and stable,” stated Aidan McGivern, a meteorologist from the Met Office. Reflecting on what he described as an “unusually warm” Christmas Eve, he remarked, “This kind of weather seems to be becoming more common during the Christmas season in the UK.”
A warm front has settled over Britain, moving in from the Atlantic and enveloping the nation in a layer of clouds. However, there will be moments when the sun shines through. This weather front came about due to a complex atmospheric setup, with the country positioned between a low-pressure system to the north, which produces winds that spin counterclockwise, and a high-pressure system to the south, which creates clockwise winds.
Given the unusually warm temperatures, the Met Office predicts that the UK won't have a white Christmas this year, marking the end of a streak that lasted from 2020 to 2023, during which some snowfall occurred each year.
To officially recognize a white Christmas, the Met Office requires either a designated observer or an automated weather station to report the sighting of at least one snowflake on the day itself. In the UK, there were no reports of snow on Christmas Day in either 2018 or 2019.
The hope for a snowy Christmas really started during the colder years from 1550 to 1850, a period known as the Little Ice Age when Britain and much of the northern hemisphere experienced harsher winters and more frequent snowfall. In some January months, temperatures fell low enough that people in London could host frost fairs on the River Thames, featuring activities like football games, various food vendors, and makeshift pubs.
Since the Industrial Revolution, the rise in global temperatures caused by greenhouse gas emissions has made it less likely to have a white Christmas. Nowadays, for much of the country, Christmas is near the beginning of the snowy season, which means that snow is more likely to arrive later in the winter months. On average, the UK sees about three days of snow accumulation in December, which increases to about 3.3 days in January and 3.4 days in February.
Instead of a snowy Christmas, the Met Office predicts a cloudy holiday for the UK this year. The mild weather is expected to continue until Friday, after which things are likely to get more unpredictable as we head into the final weekend of the year.
