White Christmas declared on warmest December 25 in years
CHRISTMAS Day got off to the warmest start since records began but the Met Office still officially declared a white Christmas.
Temperatures at Exeter airport and East Malling, Kent, did not fall below 12.4C, although in Scotland the Met Office recorded snow flakes falling in Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore, making this year officially a white Christmas.
The unseasonable warmth saw temperatures at Exeter airport and East Malling beat the previous record for the highest minimum Christmas Day temperature of 11.5C, measured at Waddon, in Croydon, Surrey, in 1983.
A maximum temperature was recorded as 13.2C at Exeter airport and Merryfield in Somerset, which made yesterday the warmest Dec 25 since 2018, when meteorologists recorded 13.3C.
The Met Office said these were the mildest temperatures recorded in any area of the country since records began for the festive period. The average maximum temperature for December is 7C.
“It’s the warmest start to Christmas Day on record,” Craig Snell, a senior Met forecaster, said. “Certainly for today for England and Wales people have probably noticed it didn’t feel festive at all; it’s very mild.”
He added that while Boxing Day would feel colder, it would “be much drier and brighter if anyone wants to walk off their Christmas lunch.”
Other areas of the UK, especially Scotland, have seen colder temperatures. Snow, sleet and rain moved across parts of Scotland, with Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore recording flakes falling, the Met Office announced on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The forecasting body said it made yesterday an “official white Christmas”, defined by them as a single snowflake falling on Dec 25.
People across the country made the most of the milder conditions as they went swimming outdoors to kick off their Christmas Day celebrations.
Some members of the Serpentine Swimming Club who took part in the Peter Pan Cup race, held every Christmas Day at the Serpentine in Hyde Park, London, wore Santa hats for the dip.
The air temperature in London was a mild 12C, meaning the swimmers faced less of a chill than in previous years.
Meanwhile, in Tynemouth, North Tyneside, smaller groups took to the North Sea for a bracing swim.
The sea was calm and around 6C, slightly cooler than the air temperature on the north east coast.
In Felixstowe, more than 600 fundraisers took part in a dip in aid of the St Elizabeth Hospice, which helps families in Suffolk. People donned fancy dress, including elf outfits, Santa and his reindeer and a T-rex, to crunch across the shingle beach before dipping into the chilly sea.
Delilah Reynolds, 10, who took part in the hospice fundraiser with her grandfather David, said: “I was bit scared before doing the dip, but it was a lot of fun.”
She added: “I hope today helps everyone the hospice looks after.”
Her grandfather said: “The morning was a brilliant start to our Christmas Day, full of community spirit and a lovely festive atmosphere.”