Met Office confirms Christmas Day weather forecast for Greater Manchester

The Met Office has provided a detailed weather forecast for Greater Manchester on Christmas Day.

It may not be a white Christmas this year, but according to forecasters it will be unseasonably mild for December 25, with Christmas Eve tomorrow and Boxing Day on the 26 likely to be the same.

Cloud cover is said to be 'fairly consistent' through the Christmas week, although the prospect of some 'drizzly showers' will remain, the Met Office said.

Temperatures, however, should peak at around 12C, with a forecasted 10C on Christmas morning.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon told the Manchester Evening News: "With cloud now moving over Manchester the forecast is fairly consistent through the week.

"High pressure to the south is settling our weather down and we'll be under a cloudy spell of weather through the week. It will be fairly dry after some light rain passes through this evening and overnight, though drizzly showers are possible through the week.

"The main notable factor will be temperatures - it'll be mild for the time of year as mild air moves in from the west through this afternoon and tomorrow. By tomorrow we will see highs of 12C in Manchester and this will be the same for Christmas Day.

"Overnight temperatures will also be notably mild, potentially staying at 10C overnight into Christmas morning. It'll remain fairly settled but gloomy through to the weekend, though temperatures will slowly drop back down to around average through the rest of the week."

The weather service said weather conditions 'should not play a factor' in any disruption to roads over the next few days as people travel home for Christmas.

Mr Claydon added: "The key notable factor of the weather through this week really is the mild conditions and higher temperatures.

"The risk of ice and any snow that we had over the weekend has diminished, and no notable heavy rain should bring any impacts to the transport network."

He added that Christmas Eve on Tuesday was expected to be the mildest day with 14C and 'potentially even up to 15C in some places'.

The temperatures are, however, expected to 'tail off slowly' towards the end of the week.

The prediction comes as the Christmas getaway period nears its end. AA president Edmund King said the UK’s roads have “coped relatively well with the traffic”.

He went on: “With Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday, drivers have already had four different days to travel. Most journeys have been relatively short, and the majority have been under 50 miles. Strategic roads and motorways near shopping centres have suffered the brunt of the congestion alongside some of the roads affected by adverse weather in Scotland and the North.”

The AA is forecasting there will be around 22.7 million drivers on the road on Monday, with 21.6 million on Christmas Eve.