Unusually high temperatures will mean that most of England and Wales and even Scotland will escape the big chill.

"There is little chance of a white Christmas this year. Southern England will see temperatures of about 13 degrees Celsius, which is very mild for this time of year," said one forecaster at the Press Association weather centre.

"Scotland will see cloud and rain and it could get a bit windy, but even there it won't be very cold. There might be a bit of snow on the hills but that's about it."

Festive jam

Bookmakers William Hill is offering odds of six-to-one on a white Christmas in London and Cardiff.

But it is also offering the same odds on Christmas Day 1998 being the warmest of the century, with the temperature exceeding the 15.6C recorded in Devon in 1920.

The RAC is predicting expecting long traffic jams on Christmas Eve as people begin the festive holiday.

A spokeswoman said: "The roads will obviously be very busy on Christmas Eve, but there should be no big problems. Most roadworks are suspended over Christmas and the Rotherhithe Tunnel is expected to re-open three weeks early, which will obviously relieve some of the pressure."