Uk weather: met office warns christmas day set to look very unfestive

Fresh weather fronts threatening the UK with heavy rain and cloudy days coming from the Atlantic will make Christmas Day feel rather "unfestive". Met Office forecaster Aidan

McGivern warned the weather system will make temperatures rise to mild double figures for some, while the north of Scotland and north-east England will still suffer some frosting

temperatures. He said: “At the end of Christmas Eve and beginning of Christmas Day we’ve got high pressure nearby but these weather fronts will bring a lot of clouding from the Atlantic.

“That means that for Christmas day itself you can expect a chilly frosty start for the north of Scotland and the far north east of England. “And mainly bright skies persisting into the

afternoon. “A crisp winter’s day. “But elsewhere it’s just grey, it’s gloomy. There’s a lot of mist and murk continuing through the day. “Hill fog and drizzle as well around eastern hills in

particular but no particularly persistent or heavy rain. “Many places will be dry if rather mild but feeling very unfestive. “If you’re heading out on a Christmas day walk post turkey at

least for most of us it will be dry.” The high temperatures are not set to continue for long though. Sub-zero winds from Siberia and eastern Europe will send temperatures plummeting while

torrents of snow blanket swathes of the country. The savage blast will be driven by another ‘Sudden Stratospheric Warming’ (SSW) similar to that which triggered the historic freeze at the

start of this year. SSW is the result of air above the North Pole collapsing and warming allowing easterly winds to sweep into Britain. It is linked to a southwards shift of the pool of cold

air over the Arctic – a so-called displaced Polar Vortex – and extreme cold weather in the UK. Some forecasters say the icy blast could be worse this time around with bitterly cold weather

showing signs of holding out through January and into February.