FORECASTERS officially declared a white Christmas yesterday as snow fell across parts of Scotland – despite the record for the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day being broken down south.
Snow, sleet and rain moved across parts of Scotland, with Tulloch Bridge and Aviemore recording flakes falling, the Met Office announced on Twitter/X.
The forecasting body said it made Monday an “official white Christmas” – defined by them as a single snowflake falling on December 25.
It follows the Met Office provisionally recording the highest daily minimum temperature for Christmas Day on record.
Temperatures at 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.
In terms of maximum temperatures, the mercury hit 13.6C at Exeter Airport and Merryfield in Somerset, which makes Monday the warmest December 25 since 2016.
The Met Office announced the minimum temperature record on Monday morning, saying: “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.”
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Predicted maximum temperatures of 14C in London and the south-east of England would make it the mildest Christmas Day since 2016 when temperatures reached 15.1C.
The average maximum temperature for December is 7C.
But a yellow weather warning for heavy rain and snow has been issued for Scotland later this week.
A Met Office warning for rain covering the south of Scotland comes into force at 3am on Wednesday and lasts until 6pm, while a further rain and snow warning for the west, central and north east comes into force at 6am and lasts until the end of the day.
A band of heavy rain and hill snow is forecast to move northeast across Scotland on Wednesday, falling as rain at low elevations (below 200 metres), with 20-30 mm developing quite widely, with a risk of 50-70 mm in some locations.
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Snow is also expected at higher elevations (above 200 metres), with 10-15 cm likely to accumulate, particularly on southeast-facing hills.
Forecaster Dan Stroud said: “We’re drawing our weather from the mid-Atlantic, which is typically a very warm direction for us.”
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.
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