Heavy downpours set to hit motorists driving home for Christmas

Heavy downpours across the UK into the weekend are threatening to dampen festive spirits and pose difficulties for motorists driving home for Christmas, according to forecasters.

The Met Office said rainfall could reach as high as 30mm, with 10mm to 15mm falling widely throughout Friday.

The wet conditions are set to continue into the weekend and cause challenging driving conditions, with a risk of surface water build-up.

Temperatures will remain mild with highs of 13C in the south of England, followed by a slight dip on Boxing Day to about 11C due to colder air coming in from the north west.

Scotland is the only country in the UK likely to see a white Christmas, with weather warnings for snow and ice on the evening of December 25 and throughout December 26 for large parts of the country.

Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said: “It will be heavy rain and difficult driving conditions with the potential for some surface water build-up as it drains away because there’s a fair amount of rain moving north-eastwards through the day today.

“The next warning comes in at 9pm on Christmas Day evening and that’s for snow and ice in Scotland.

“As we go through the weekend there are continued showers that come in through that front on Saturday.

“Temperatures in the UK are largely governed by the air mass.

“Through the cold spell we had Arctic maritime air mass that switched back to a southwesterly, milder Atlantic air mass, and then there’s just a brief spell (on Boxing Day) when we’re going back to a colder air mass in the west, but not as cold as the cold spell.”