White Christmas? Not this year as fine festive weather forecast

Almost all parts of the UK can expect fine weather on Christmas Day, according to the Met Office.

After a frosty and foggy start to the day, people in most parts of the country are likely to see the wintry weather lift and make way for sunshine.

A white Christmas is not on the cards, according to the forecaster, and only mountainous areas in Scotland stand a chance of seeing any snow.

WATCH: Latest weather forecast

Sunny spells and mild temperatures are forecast for Christmas Day, with the mercury set to hit 8C (46F).

"Christmas Day is looking like a lovely day for pretty much the whole of the UK," according to Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst.

"It will be a cold start in the morning with some fog, but once that clears we are looking at a dry day across the country with sunny spells."

Peak temperatures are likely to range from around 6C in northern parts of the UK to around 9C in the south, he added.

The thickest of the morning fog is likely to be in Wales and central and western parts of England.

There have only been four occasions over the last 51 years when the UK has had a widespread coating of snow on the ground on Christmas Day, according to the Met Office.

It is highly unlikely that there will be any significant snowfall this year, Mr Dewhurst said, adding: "If there is any snow it will be over the tops of Scottish mountains, which we don't class as a white Christmas."

Before the arrival of the pleasant conditions on December 25, the Met Office is predicting that thunderstorms will hit parts of south Wales and south-west England on Christmas Eve.

A severe yellow weather warning has been issued which states that there may be damage to a few buildings and power outages, with delays to journeys by rail or road also possible.

The last time that there was a "widespread" white Christmas in the UK was in 2010, according to the Met Office.

2017 was also technically recorded as a white Christmas by the forecaster after 11% of weather stations reported snowfall, however none said that snow had settled.

Last year there was no record of snow falling at any weather station in the UK.

The Met Office has to record a single snowflake falling at any one of a number of observation locations in the UK including Buckingham Palace, Edinburgh Castle and the Millennium Stadium in order to class a Christmas as white.

This has happened on 38 of the last 54 Christmas Days.