Highest minimum temperature for Christmas Day on record, Met Office says, as Suffolk hits a drizzly 12C
The Met Office has provisionally recorded the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day on record.
It comes amid predictions that today will be the warmest December 25 in almost a decade, with forecasters predicting highs of 14C.
Temperatures in Exeter Airport and East Malling have so far not fallen below 12.4C, the Met Office announced in a post on X.
The forecasting body said: “It has been a very mild 24 hours across parts of the UK.
It comes as light rain and a moderate breeze swept West Suffolk towns with highs of 12C forecast. Boxing Day temperatures in Ipswich look set to hit 9C with sun on the cards.
“Provisionally this Christmas we have recorded the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day on record, with both Exeter Airport and East Malling not falling below 12.4C.”
The new record has further shattered dreams of a White Christmas for most of the UK, with warmer temperatures continuing after the country saw its warmest Christmas Eve for more than 20 years.
However, some areas in northern Scotland may still see some snow, technically making it a White Christmas, which is defined by the Met Office as a single snowflake falling on December 25.
Predicted highs of 13 to 14C in London and the southeast of England would make it the mildest Christmas Day since 2016 when temperatures reached 15.1C.
The average maximum temperature for December is 7C.
Forecaster Dan Stroud said: “We’re drawing our weather from the mid-Atlantic, which is typically a very warm direction for us.”
Monday was forecasted to be “damp and miserable” for much of England and Wales, while northern areas, Scotland and Northern Ireland were expected to have a mix of sunny spells and showers.
It comes after temperatures in Heathrow, south-west London and Cippenham, Berkshire hit 15.3C on Sunday, making it the warmest Christmas Eve since 1997.
Wind speeds of up to 70mph were recorded in Scotland, reaching 60mph in the north-east of England.
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.
