Weather conditions improve across UK

Weather conditions are improving across the UK ahead of the final Christmas travel rush and last-minute shopping dash.

All weather warnings which had been in place have now been lifted, after the weekend saw strong winds cause flight cancellations and widespread rail delays.

The disruption included a plane suffering an emergency incident at Belfast City Airport on Sunday evening, when its nose wheel appeared to break during landing in stormy conditions. The runway reopened on Monday morning.

The Met Office has forecast a “grey Christmas” with “extremely mild” temperatures for most in the coming days – ruling out any prospect of a white Christmas for the majority of the country.

It comes after parts of the UK were hit by chilly temperatures and 50-60mph winds on Saturday and Sunday – with the strongest gust recorded in South Uist on the Western Isles clocking in at 82mph.

But the travel picture looks far more straightforward for those making journeys today or on Tuesday.

While Heathrow Airport was forced to cancel around 100 flights on Sunday due to the conditions, a spokesperson said it was “business as usual” on Monday.

And National Rail was not reporting any widespread issues on Monday morning, though there were some isolated problems around Inverness, Portsmouth and Southsea.

Ferry customers are still being warned of ongoing disruption on some routes operating from Scotland and Northern Ireland.

While driving conditions have improved, congestion is likely. Last week, the RAC predicted a record 29m separate road journeys in the run-up to Christmas – with almost 7m over the next two days alone.

Among the motorists will be those heading to supermarkets on Monday, which is expected to be the biggest food shopping day of the year so far, according to retail analyst Catherine Shuttleworth.

Se said high street retailers were preparing for a “busy day”, while supermarkets looked to cash in on people being more “cautious” about eating out ahead of Christmas due to the demands on household budgets.

Temperatures are expected to improve in the final run-up to Christmas Day, with sunshine forecast in some areas.

Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said “temperatures will be well above average” in England in Wales, though it will be overcast for many.

Christmas Eve is forecast to hit an average temperature of 12C or 13C, while Christmas Day is expected to be 11C or 12C.

“The usual average for this time of year is 7C or 8C so we’ll be around double where we usually are,” he added.