Don’t dream of a white Christmas... it’s too warm

‘Dull and overcast’

WE’VE only just shivered through the coldest night of the year and many parts of the country are still blanketed in ice and snow.

But after a chilly couple of nights tonight and tomorrow, it’s going to feel a lot warmer.

Forecasters say we are due to have mild weather over the next few days, making any hopes of a white Christmas a distant dream. Temperatures are expected to reach 12C (54F) over most of the country on Tuesday – a full 25C warmer than the minus 13C ( 8.6F) recorded in Shropshire on Monday night.

MeteoGroup forecaster Nikki Berry said: ‘It’s warming up from Sunday and by Tuesday we’ll get 12C (54F), including in Scotland. It will even be 13C (55.4F) in Ireland.

‘That is probably the warmest day, but Wednesday will be similar with 10 to 12C (50-54F). After that we are getting into a less reliable forecast period but we’re expecting nothing especially cold.

‘So the temperatures will be quite nice, although it will be pretty dull and overcast.’

Warm and moist tropical air coming in on the Gulf Stream will raise temperatures well above the to 8C typical in the South and 5 to 6C in Scotland in the week leading up to Christmas. The cold snap this week was caused by an Arctic air mass over the UK. Snow was still falling in Scotland yesterday.