Met Office warns of cold, windy weather but white Christmas ‘highly unlikely’ | UK weather
Cold and windy weather warnings have been issued for parts of the UK but a white Christmas was “extremely unlikely”, according to the Met Office.
The UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) has issued a yellow cold health warning for south-west England from 6pm on Thursday until noon on 27 December. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for wind affecting a similar area and much of Wales, lasting until 11.59pm on Christmas Day.
According to the UKHSA, lower temperatures are likely to have minor impacts on health and social care services, including “increased use of healthcare services by vulnerable people” and a “greater risk to the lives of vulnerable people”.
The Met Office said east to north-easterly winds would become particularly strong over Christmas Day, with gusts expected to peak at 45-55 mph, although 55-65 mph was possible on some open coasts and west of prominent hills.
He added that this could lead to “some disruption to transport and power supplies” and that “large waves will pose additional danger to some coasts”.
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said Thursday would see “fairly good” conditions with mostly dry weather.
“The other notable factor will be the wind, so due to the location of the high pressure there is a fairly strong easterly wind, particularly along the south coast of England, so it could be quite stormy there,” he said.
“High pressure is now firmly controlling the weather in the UK, creating a much more settled effect and also bringing cooler temperatures than they have been in recent times.”
Claydon said it was “highly unlikely” the UK would see a white Christmas this year, adding: “We are facing a very dry picture across the UK over the next few days.”
It was confirmed by the Met Office that no snow had fallen by 8 a.m. on Thursday. Meteorologist Zoe Hutin said it would need to be observed at one of the agency’s stations to be confirmed.
The Jersey Met said some snowflakes had been spotted in non-UK Jersey, making it the third official white Christmas on the island since records began. Hutin said the snow was spotted at Jersey Airport around 4:45 a.m.
Temperatures on Christmas Day are forecast to be around 7C (45F) in north-east England and 6C (43F) in south or south-east England.
Claydon said freezing and freezing temperatures were likely in western rural areas overnight from Christmas Day to Boxing Day, with -6C (21F) possible in rural Scotland and -4C (25F) possible in rural Wales.
