Weather and climate change

Headline:

Mostly dry over Christmas, but cold. Windy across the south.

This Evening and Tonight:

Remaining mostly dry this Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. It will be a rather cloudy night become increasingly windy in the south. Clearest skies in the southeast and west where frost is possible. Fog across northern Scotland. Cold for all.

Thursday:

Christmas Day will be mainly dry with some sunshine. Cloudier in the northeast and thicker cloud could give patchy rain across west Cornwall. Cold everywhere, and windy in the south.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

The weather will stay largely dry and settled on Boxing Day and during the weekend. Some clear or sunny spells. Remaining cold and still rather windy in the south.

Updated: 16:00 (UTC) on Wed 24 Dec 2025

High pressure is likely to dominate across the UK through to the end of the year, centred to the west over the North Atlantic. This will likely maintain relatively settled conditions at first, but with a few showers possible along some coasts exposed to the northerly wind. Towards the first weekend of January, high pressure is likely to shift a little farther away from the UK, allowing a greater chance of more changeable conditions to develop. This will bring an increased risk of some rain or showers at times which, with cold air close to the UK, may bring some wintry hazards to some places. Temperatures will probably be near or slightly below average for this period overall.

Updated: 14:00 (UTC) on Wed 24 Dec 2025

Whilst confidence is low, high pressure will probably sit close to the UK initially, with periods of relatively settled weather interspersed with more changeable conditions. Temperatures will likely be near or slightly below average during this time. Later in the period a transition to more widely changeable or unsettled conditions is possible, with a corresponding shift to near or slightly above average temperatures.

Updated: 15:00 (UTC) on Wed 24 Dec 2025