Definitely no white Christmas for Northern Ireland - and may be one of the warmest on record

According to forecaser Tom Morgan of the Met Office, the record so far is 13.9C, set in Armagh city in 1942.

Though tomorrow is not expected to crack that temperature, the forecast is for readings to reach 13C in counties Antrim and Down – “well above average for this time of year”.

Mr Morgan said people should expect a “much, much milder” Christmas than usual.

Today, he said most rain and drizzle will dry out by evening, though there will be “extensive mist and murk” over higher ground.

And for Christmas Day he said it is a case of “spot-the-difference”, with much the same weather conditions prevailing, though it may be “a fraction” brighter.

He said Christmas Day temperatures are likely to be 12 to 13C – short of the Christmas Day record of 14.8C.

Boxing Day will be similar too, though with a slightly higher chance of rain.

One thing we can be sure of, said Mr Morgan: “It is certainly not going to be a white Christmas.”

However, the chances of snow will increase as we get closer to new year, with the temperatures expected to drop as it draws nearer.

It all follows an extremely blustery pre-Christmas weekend, when the strongest wind speed was 82mph recorded at Kirkwall on Orkney and South Uist in the Outer Hebrides.

The weekend’s lowest temperature was at Killylane, Co Antrim: 0.4C on Sunday.