How long is Northern Ireland's unusually mild weather set to continue? Forecast for this weekend - and whether you'll need to wrap up warm for New Year's Eve

Christmas Eve was one of the warmest on record in the province, peaking at 13.7°C in one spot in County Down.

Temperatures fell a little over Christmas Day and Boxing Day, hitting maximums of 12.6°C and 9.8°C respectively – both far warmer than usual for the time of year.

Weather forecasters now say the mild conditions are set to last over the coming weekend, though things get more changeable on New Year’s Eve and into the start of 2025.

And anyone planning a trip to Scotland for Hogmanay could be in for a rough time, as the Met Office has issued a yellow warning for rain covering the entire country on both December 30 and 31.

Across Northern Ireland, Saturday and Sunday are to be mostly dry, though with chances of patchy rain on Saturday afternoon.

The province will be overcast throughout, predicts the Met Office, with temperatures hovering between 10°C and 11°C during the day – not as warm as over Christmas, but still around 2°C to 3°C higher than the average for December.

Early next week is set to be marred by wet weather moving from west to east over the course of Monday afternoon.

Temperatures will decline fairly sharply, dropping to 9°C on Tuesday afternoon before falling to 6°C on the first day of 2025.

And the Met Office predicts wintry showers will move in across the UK towards the end of next week.

Forecasters have also warned that heavy rain and strong wind will batter the entirety of Scotland in the run-up to the new year, and will be especially bad in the west of the country.

Said the Met Office: “Rain is likely to become persistent and occasionally heavy on Monday and possibly last through New Year’s Eve.

“This may bring some significant disruption and flooding in the build up to new year events, although there is still a lot of uncertainty in which areas are likely to be affected.”

Forecasters warn flooding could lead to difficult driving conditions and travel disruption in the lead-up to Hogmanay.

Northern Ireland’s current mild spell is markedly different to much of England, where thick fog and mist combined with lower temperatures at the end of this week.

The unseasonal weather is due to an area of high pressure pulling in air from around the Azores.

The Met Office’s deputy chief meteorologist, Chris Almond, told the News Letter: “This flow of relatively warm air is elevating temperatures across much of the UK, especially in any areas which experience sunshine.

“As global temperatures are continuing to rise with climate change, we can expect this more southerly Atlantic air to be warmer, providing an additional boost to already otherwise mild temperatures.”

The Met Office says that 2024 is set to be one of the three warmest years on record, coming on the back of 2023 setting a new record for the UK.

And they predict 2025 will be unusually warm as well, something that’s said to arise from the effects of a powerful El Nino event over the past two years, as well as continuing climate change.