UK weather: A bright Christmas but not a white Christmas, that's the forecast unless you're in the Scottish Highlands

And rain even threatens to spoil the Boxing Day walk

The Glasgow Central to Carlisle train on Monday after striking a large volume of water between Kilmarnock and Auchinleck, as the River Irvine burst its banks (First Group/PA Wire)

A yellow 'beware' warning has been issued for heavy rain today over northern UK, with mixed weather forecast for the rest of the Christmas break.

After floods had already affected parts of Scotland, the alert was posted for Northern Ireland, SW Scotland and the Borders, Wales and northern England. No more alerts are flagged up for the rest of the week.

Tuesday's mild weather in the south will see an exceptional 13C maximum in the south, but strong winds move south before a drizzly morning is due to add to the misery for crowds of last-minute shoppers.

Temperatures then fall sharply for Christmas Day with a 1C minimum before a bright and dry day for much of the country. Forecasters confirm there is no hope of a White Christmas for most of the country; the only snow can be expected over the Scottish Highlands.

Emergency services helping stranded people at an Asda supermarket in Kilmarnock, after the River Irvine burst its banks (@AyrshireEPolice/PA Wire)

Boxing Day will start at 0C and be cloudy and dull, with rain arriving from the west and lasting into Saturday.

It will be exactly the sort of weather to make people wonder why mornings still seem to be darker later despite passing the winter solstice on Sunday. The answer is that they are. Oddly sunrise keeps getting later until early in the new year but the days are lengthening after sunsets have been falling back in time from a couple of weeks before the solstice.

And that is all due the varying length of the solar day, as the BBC website explains.