The sky full of colour before sunrise at St Marys Lighthouse in Whitley Bay on the North East coast of England. (Image: PA Wire/PA Images)
The has predicted a “mild Christmas” with “notably high temperatures” throughout the festive season – Britons hoping for a White this year are likely out of luck.
The weather experts have assured that the conditions “should not play a factor” in causing road disruptions as people journey home for Christmas.
Oli Claydon, a spokesperson for the , stated that despite the mild conditions, it “doesn’t necessarily bring sunny skies, unfortunately”.
Mr Claydon told the PA news agency: “The key notable factor of the weather through this week really is the mild conditions and higher temperatures. The risk of ice and any snow that we had over the weekend has diminished, and no notable heavy rain should bring any impacts to the transport network.”
He added that Christmas Eve on Tuesday was expected to be the mildest day with 14C and “potentially even up to 15C in some places”.
Mr Claydon said a mild Christmas Eve could be “quite widespread” from Torbay in Devon to the north east of Scotland, adding that temperatures in Scotland and Northern Ireland were “markedly above average for the time of year”.
The spokesman said Christmas Day on Wednesday would be a “little bit less mild” with “highs of 13C and maybe 14C”.
As the Christmas travel period draws to a close, AA president Edmund King noted that the UK’s roads have “coped relatively well with the traffic”.
He detailed: “With Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday, drivers have already had four different days to travel.”
“Most journeys have been relatively short, and the majority have been under 50 miles.”
“Strategic roads and motorways near shopping centres have suffered the brunt of the congestion alongside some of the roads affected by adverse weather in Scotland and the North.”
Experts at the AA predict that approximately 22.7 million motorists will hit the road on Monday, with numbers dropping slightly to 21.6 million on Christmas Eve.