Weather forecast for Boxing Day as Scotland experiences mildest Christmas morning on record

The mildest start to Christmas Day on record has been recorded for Scotland.

The recorded low in Kinloss was 12.1°C at 6 a.m. this morning, surpassing the previous record of 10.6°C set at Dounreay in the Highlands back in 1971.

A temperature of 14.2C was reached in Dyce, Aberdeen, the forecaster said.

Across most of Scotland, temperatures hovered between 10°C and 11°C overnight.

“No sign of snow this Christmas, with a mild and cloudy theme,” Met Office meteorologist Kathryn Chalk said.

“A cloudy Christmas Day for many, however, there are some breaks in the cloud giving sunny spells, especially to the east of any higher ground with some patchy rain in the far northwest of Scotland.”

Christmas Day evening will be cloudy for many with some fog patches in the south 🌫️

Rain will continue in northern Scotland, and there will be some spots of drizzle under thicker cloud elsewhere, but staying dry for many pic.twitter.com/S0Fjpfzw6W
— Met Office (@metoffice) December 25, 2024

Later on Christmas Day, rain will affect much of Scotland overnight.

“Though rather cloudy elsewhere with patchy drizzle in the west, some clear intervals and local fog patches are possible,” Ms Chalk said.

Boxing Day weather

On Boxing Day, rain will affect central and southern Scotland with cloud, with patchy rain, cloud and drizzle expected across much of the country.

Met Office meteorologist Claire Nasir said a weather front of cold and rain is set to sink southwards towards the Highlands, extending towards Aberdeenshire on Boxing Day.

Showers will then move in across the Outer Hebrides, Caithness, Orkney, and Shetland, though the weather front will “weaken in situ” across the bulk of the country.

A mild, mostly cloudy day is also expected on Friday, the forecaster said, before the weather turns brighter, but colder with blustery showers into the weekend.

Brighter skies and a breeze are expected in the far North West with temperatures to be slightly lower at around 8C, but will remain in the double digits further south at around 10-11C.

Claire warns there will be a “squeeze on the ice bars” through the weekend as cold air sinks southwards.

Insight Sean Batty Weather presenter

Santa has just experienced his warmest Christmas Eve night in Scotland, with temperatures in Kinloss remaining above 12°C throughout the night.

The recorded low in Kinloss was 12.1°C at 6 a.m. this morning, surpassing the previous record of 10.6°C set at Dounreay in the Highlands back in 1971.

Across most of Scotland, temperatures hovered between 10°C and 11°C overnight, meaning many local records have likely been broken. The ‘coldest’ spot in Scotland was Dyce, with a low of 8.3°C, but even that is higher than the typical daytime temperatures for this time of year.

This is a stark contrast to Christmas morning in 2010, when most of Scotland awoke to snow-covered landscapes and temperatures well below freezing. That year marked the coldest Christmas morning on record, with Altnaharra in the north Highlands seeing a frigid -18.2°C. This year, however, Altnaharra is experiencing a mild 11°C—a nearly 30-degree difference!

The mild conditions are expected to continue into Christmas Day. While a new national temperature record for the day is unlikely, given that Faskally reached 15.9°C on Christmas Day 2011, some local records may still be set today.