Fog warning issued for Christmas morning

Visibility could be cut to 50 metres, with much of England expected to be bathed in fog on Christmas morning.

The Met Office issued a yellow weather warning from 3pm Christmas Eve to 11am Christmas Day covering large swathes of the country.

It said fog or freezing fog patches which could be dense in places are expected from the South West to the East Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber.

Visibility could be cut to 50 metres in the worst-hit areas and the Met Office said it could lead to slower journey times.

It could be quite a mild Christmas Day with temperatures rising to about 9C in London and 7C or 8C in urban areas, but colder temperatures on the east coast of about 4C or 5C.

The Met Office said: “Not everywhere will see fog, but where it does form, the visibility may fall to around 50 metres at times.

“Fog will tend to thin and lift in western and some central areas of England overnight, but will be slow to clear on Christmas Day in the east, perhaps persisting for much or all of the day in parts of eastern England.”

Despite roads being busy, the RAC said on Monday conditions on Christmas Eve had been “pretty smooth” with no major problems reported.

Main motorways did see some delays but traffic was generally good, despite an additional two-and-a-half million vehicles on the road.

A RAC spokesman said: “Some areas have been busy around town centres today due to last-minute shopping, but it’s mostly local congestion.”

Highways England lifted more than 200 miles of roadworks on the country’s motorways and major A-roads on Friday to ensure more than 97% of its network is open.

But drivers were being hit with Christmas getaway fuel costs at a five-year high, with UK forecourts charging motorists an average of £1.21 per litre for petrol and £1.31 per litre for diesel, according to Government data.

The last time prices were this high in the run-up to Christmas was 2013.

People hoping to escape motoring misery were warned to plan ahead due to planned engineering works on train lines.

As usual, there are no trains on Christmas Day and only a limited service will run on Boxing Day.

But some of Network Rail’s 330 Christmas engineering projects have already begun, forcing a number of lines to be closed.

These include no services between London Victoria – the UK’s second busiest station – and Clapham Junction until January 2 due to track renewal.

Crossrail work means there are no trains operating to or from London Paddington on December 30, with a reduced service on December 27, 28, 29 and 31 which could cause problems for airline passengers using Heathrow Airport.

Liverpool Lime Street will have an amended service from Monday until New Year’s Day, affecting Virgin Trains, East Midlands Trains, London Northwestern Railway and Northern.

There are improvement projects at numerous other locations and passengers are urged to check the National Rail Enquiries website before they travel.