Festive forecast: Driving home for Christmas

Are you driving home for Christmas in the next day or two? Then take a read of our detailed forecast.

If you're headed home this evening then you're in luck because it's a broadly dry picture across the board, with only the odd patch of drizzle around beneath the cloud.

However if you're hitting the road in the early hours, then an area of heavy rain will be pushing up from the south-west of England and southern Ireland, pivoting its way slowly northward.

Rain looks to contain some sharp and potentially thundery bursts at times, mainly for southern coastal fringes, though any lightning looks to be fairly infrequent and isolated.

Early tomorrow morning this heavy rain will continue spreading northwards, reaching most of central and northern England, Wales and northern Ireland by morning.

As it arrives to the Pennines some sleet or perhaps wet snow cannot be ruled out over the tops of the hills, but nothing especially wintry is expected.

The rain will then reach the northern extent of Northern England, getting to the Borders by the afternoon, still rather heavy in places. Behind this rain, sunshine will develop between some lingering showers, especially for Wales.

Rain then persisting into the evening across Northern England and southern Scotland, making for a wet commute home for these areas, so do take care on the roads.

As the band reaches colder air across central and northern Scotland, some snow is possible here, with an increasingly wintry picture by Saturday morning, Christmas Eve.

So, all in all a wet commute for southern and western areas in the morning, translating to northern areas by evening. It won't be icy, but it still could be slippery from that rain, so drive carefully and get home safe!