Brits are set for a cold and windy Christmas Day, though many areas will enjoy periods of sunshine, forecasters predict.
Brisk easterly winds, strengthening from Christmas Eve, will make slightly below-average temperatures feel close to freezing across much of the country, the Met Office has warned.
These winds, primarily affecting the UK’s south, could generate significant waves for Christmas Day and Boxing Day swimmers.
Forecasters are not predicting a white Christmas but there is a very small chance of snow falling in Dartmoor, as afternoon rain showers push into parts of Devon and Cornwall.
December 24 and 25 will be dry and sunny for most with cloudier weather expected in the east.
Many will wake up to a frosty Christmas Day morning.
Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said: “It will turn colder from Christmas Eve, with a strong wind across much of England and Wales, so temperatures on the thermometer will be a little bit below average: around 6C or 7C as a max, generally.
“And then when you add on that wind chill of an easterly wind, it will probably feel more like freezing from Christmas Eve onwards.”
Have you felt the chill in the air?
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 23, 2025
It will keep getting colder, especially in the south, as Christmas approaches 👇 pic.twitter.com/fH5bGmxoM9
Most areas will see temperatures peak at 4C or 5C during the Christmas period.
Temperatures are forecast to plummet below freezing overnight across much of the country, with northern Scotland potentially reaching minus 5C.
Clouds could accumulate in some southern counties on Boxing Day but elsewhere will remain largely dry with sunny spells.
“It’s a bit colder than average, not unusual for the time of year, but in terms of averages it would be a bit below”, Ms Mitchell said.
“The weather’s all very similar really, out towards New Year’s Eve. The Christmas period is quite a nice forecast.”
King’s pilgrimage-themed Christmas message filmed in Westminster Abbey
Martha Stewart joins Snoop Dogg as minority owner of Swansea soccer club
Two men arrested after ‘large-scale’ police operation into organised crime
King Charles’ Christmas broadcast will be staged outside a royal residence
Jewish charity says police decision over Bob Vylan set ‘sends the wrong message’
‘Crying and praying for a solution’: How Christmas will push millions into debt
