People across much of the UK should be safe to leave their winter layers and umbrellas at home on Christmas Day, as a run of unseasonably mild weather continues.

Highs of between 11C and 13C are forecast, lower than the warmest Christmas on record back in 1920 when it was 15.6C in Devon.

A blanket of cloud will greet early risers on Christmas morning, with the threat of rain isolated to the western and northern isles of the UK, and around the Highlands’ Great Glen.

This Christmas Eve was the warmest on record for Northern Ireland, with Magilligan on the north coast reaching 14.3C.

On 25 December, Scotland and Northern Ireland can expect spells of rain but the rest of the UK is predicted to stay dry.

Boxing Day will almost be a case of spot the difference when we look out of our windows.

The first signs of a change will arrive late on Friday, Lear said, as north-westerly winds introduce colder air across Scotland.

But those chasing the dream of a white Christmas will have to look to Europe this year.

Fresh snowfall is expected in northern Scandinavia, the Apennine Mountains in central Italy and parts of the Balkans.

• The warmest Christmas Day was in Killerton, Devon in 1920, which got to a balmy 15.6C
• The wettest was in 2015 when 165.4mm of rain fell in Capel Curig, Gwynedd
• The strongest Christmas wind was recorded in Sella Ness in Shetland in 2011 with gusts up to 101mph (162km/h)
• And the coldest Christmas was recorded in Gainford, Durham, which shivered through -18.2C temperatures in 1878

Christmas Eve as seen by BBC Weather Watchers around the UK: