Tuesday 23/12/03 to Christmas Eve 24/12/03
Tuesday will be a much milder day across many parts, although eastern England and eastern parts of Scotland may be rather cold at first. Although milder though, it will be rather cloudy across many parts, with light rain and drizzle in places. Western Scotland and Northern Ireland will have the heaviest and most persistent rain, with many places staying dry. Winds will be mostly light in the south, but stronger in the north with a brisk westerly. Overnight, the north-west will have heavier rain, but elsewhere staying drizzly and overcast. Christmas Eve will be a very similar day, again with outbreaks of rain for Northern Ireland, Scotland and parts of northern England. The rest of England and Wales will be rather cloudy, but with a few brighter spells here and there in the afternoon. Winds will again be fresh in the north, somewhat lighter in the south. Staying mild everywhere.

Christmas Day 25/12/03 to Boxing Day 26/12/03
Conditions will be far from wintry on Christmas Day, so a White Christmas will have to be put off for another year! Many places will be mild, with a good deal of cloud around. A weakening band of rain will sink slowly southwards during the day, through northern England, Ireland and parts of north Wales. South of this, rather cloudy with patchy drizzle. To the north, becoming brighter but with scattered showers. Overnight rain will continue in central parts, with further showers in the north. Boxing Day will be unsettled, with blustery showers across Scotland and Northern Ireland, turning to sleet and snow over the highest ground. England and Wales will again be rather cloudy, with further rain in places. The far south-east may just about get away with a dry, if rather cloudy day. Mild in many parts, but turning colder again in the north.

Saturday 27/12/03 to Monday 29/12/03
On Saturday, central and southern parts of England will have rain at times, some heavy. Elsewhere, rather a lot of cloud around with scattered heavy showers, but there will be some sunshine, especially in the south-west. On Sunday, many parts will have a mixture of sunshine and showers, but these will begin to turn increasingly wintry across Scotland as winds swing more northerly later in the day. The detail for Monday is currently uncertain, although there are signs that more cold weather may be on the way, with the risk of snow. As ever, more detail in the next forecast update.