White Christmas declared in spite of record high temperature

Forecasters have officially declared a white Christmas with snow falling across parts of Scotland, while the record for the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day was broken further south.

The Met Office has provisionally recorded the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day on record.

Temperatures in Exeter Airport and East Malling, Kent, have not fallen below 12.4C, beating the previous record of 11.5C measured at Waddon in Croydon in 1983.

‘Very mild’

In terms of maximum temperatures, the mercury has so far hit 13.2C at Exeter Airport and Merryfield in Somerset, which makes Monday the warmest December 25 since 2018, when meteorologists recorded 13.3C.

Forecasters had thought this year could be the warmest Christmas Day since 2016, with predicted highs of 14C, and maximum temperatures could still change.

The Met Office announced the minimum temperature record on X on Monday morning, posting: “It has been a very mild 24 hours across parts of the UK

“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 further shattered dreams of a White Christmas for most of the UK, with milder temperatures continuing after the country saw its warmest Christmas Eve for more than 20 years.

However, some areas in northern Scotland are expected to see some snow, which would technically make it a White Christmas, defined by the Met Office as a single snowflake falling on December 25.

Predicted maximum temperatures of 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.

‘Damp and miserable’

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.