Christmas Day is also set to be the hottest in years with parts of the UK expected to hit 14C.

A White Christmas has been ruled out for most of the country, apart from the mountains of northern Scotland.

Met Office forecaster Dan Stroud said: “The temperatures will peak today, there is a slight downward trend in temperatures for Christmas Day but we’re still expecting them to be comfortably above average.

“We’re looking at 13 and 14C tomorrow, we’re probably looking the warmest Christmas Day since 2016, when we actually hit 15.1C.”

The warmest December 25 on record was 15.6C in 1920, while the highest Christmas Eve temperatures of 15.5C were set in Aberdeen and Banff in Scotland in 1931.

Mr Stroud said the UK is drawing in southern, warmer air.

Monday is set to be damp for much of the country, with heavy rain possible in Wales.

Two separate yellow wind warnings were issued by the Met Office in Scotland and northern and central areas of England for Christmas Eve, saying people should expect travel disruption, damage to buildings and power cuts, while the rest of the country may see showers.

Forecasters say gusts of up to 56mph hit parts of the Isle of Wight and Northern Ireland on Sunday morning.

Wind speeds of up to 70mph were recorded in Scotland later in the day, reaching 60mph in the north-east of England.

Christmas Day could be the warmest on record the Met Office has said, despite the threat of snow in parts of the country.

The forecaster expects unseasonably mild temperatures across much of the UK on Monday, in the early to mid-teens.

The hottest Christmas Day on record was 15.6C in 1920, and there is a chance - albeit a small one - this could be matched or even beaten, the Met Office says.

Meteorologist Liam Eslick said there may be snow on December 25 on mountains in Scotland but it is “not looking likely that there will be a white Christmas in England”.

He added that Christmas Day is expected to be a lot milder than usual, with the average December temperature between 7C and 8C, but the top temperature that could be seen this December 25 is 14C.

The warmest Christmas Day on record was 15.6C in 1920, so there is a “small chance” of it being a record, Mr Eslick added.

Most of the country will be damp on Monday, with heavy rain possible in Wales, though it is expected to brighten up after lunchtime.

As usual, no trains will run in the UK on 25 December.

But from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight and South Wales to East Anglia, many of the 20 million Britons who have no access to a car will be able to access better public transport on Christmas Day 2023 than ever before.

Thriving competition between coach companies means record long-distance services will run on 25 December.

On the Cardiff-Bristol-Heathrow airport-London route, Megabus passengers can choose from four departures each way.

In Scotland, Glasgow is connected with Edinburgh by a dozen Citylink buses in either direction.

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Northern Trains has issued a Do Not Travel notice for seven of its routes in northwest England on Sunday, including Manchester Victoria to Chester and Crewe to Manchester Piccadilly due to train crew unavailability.

South Western Railway trains are recovering after an earlier track circuit failure on one of the nation’s busiest stretches of line, between London Waterloo and Clapham Junction.

Trains start winding down towards the late afternoon and through the evening. Services will be reaching their final destinations much earlier than on a normal Sunday. No trains will run on Christmas Day and very few lines are open on Boxing Day.

Millions of travellers are on the roads, railways and planes on Christmas Eve in the final travel surge before 25 December.

Rail passengers in particular have faced a litany of problems in the build-up to Christmas, with Storm Pia combining with staff shortage to disrupt trains within Britain.

Eurostar made 30 cancellations to and from Continental Europe on Thursday, when the Channel Tunnel closed because of a strike – wrecking the plans of 25,000 passengers.

Two separate yellow wind warnings have been issued by the Met Office, saying people should expect travel disruption, damage to buildings and power cuts, while the rest of the country may see showers during the day.

Forecaster Jonathan Vautrey said: “Obviously there will be quite a lot of people travelling and wanting to get home for Christmas itself.

“Particularly with these strong winds we could see some flying debris thrown on to particular roads or railway services, so if you get a tree down then that’s going to cause cancellations and delays.

“There’s the potential for isolated power cuts which will again lead to the risk of some disruption at times.

“If you’ve got a particular train that you’re catching make sure you’re looking ahead of time if there have been any cancellations.

“Just make sure you’re driving carefully, there’s the potential that high-sided vehicles could get hit by strong gusts of wind which has the potential to cause impacts, so we might see bridges closing as well.”

Very few domestic flights will operate on Christmas Day. Those that do are mainly to connect with international services at London Heathrow.c

British Airways is operating three flights each way between Edinburgh and Heathrow, and four each way linking Glasgow and Manchester with Heathrow.

Most fares are very high, but the 6.15am from Glasgow to London Heathrow is selling at only £55.

No trains will run in the UK on 25 December 2023.

But many of the 20 million Brits without a car can enjoy better public transport on Christmas Day than ever – from Aberdeen to the Isle of Wight and South Wales to East Anglia.

The best service of all is on the Isle of Wight, with regular buses from 8am to midnight.

Simon Calder, Travel Correspondent of The Independent, has rounded up the options.