Shoppers hoping to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales are likely to face a deluge of rain across parts of the UK, the Met Office has said.
Christmas Day’s clear skies will turn to cloud, wind and rain on December 26, with the south west of England experiencing the heaviest downpours.
Forecasters have predicted the region could experience up to 30mm (1.2ins) of rainfall on Thursday, while other areas could see as much as 20mm (0.8ins) as the weather front travels across the country.
The Environment Agency has issued 35 flood warnings - where flooding is expected - and 93 flood alerts - where flooding is possible.
Met Office forecaster Alex Burkill said a band of rain moving from the south west to the north east of England will ensure that “pretty much everywhere” will see some wet weather on Thursday.
He said: “For most places there is going to be a lot of cloud and some rain around too. The heaviest will be in south-west England and Wales.
“Because of the amount of rain we have seen this month there could also be some localised flooding.”
Coastal areas in the south west are also forecast to be hit by winds of up to 50mph.
There is some good news for London shoppers however, with the skies expected to clear by the afternoon as temperatures reach 12C in the South and 5C further north.
Looking ahead, the rain is expected to persist until Saturday in the north west of England while sunshine should return for the south east in time for the weekend.