After a year marked by the freezing Beast from the East and the scorching summer heatwave, 2019 will begin with none of the extremes of its predecessor.
It’s going to be “mild”.
New Year’s revellers can look forward to temperatures sitting two to three degrees above average across the UK and forecasters expect 2018 to limp out with cloudy skies and only a few patches of drizzle over higher ground.
Those out to watch fireworks need not fear the nip as even northern parts of Scotland could see highs of 8C (46.4F) to 9C (48.2F), while the mercury might hit 13C (55.4F) further south.
Met Office forecaster Dean Hall said: “New Year’s Eve will generally be quite cloudy and relatively mild for the time of year, nothing exceptional but certainly mild.
“There is an area of high pressure to the south of the UK keeping things stable but there is still a fair amount of cloud around bringing some patches of rain to the north and west.”
He continued: “The north of the British Isles will be a bit more more unsettled, we will see a westerly wind, so it will be quite fresh and gusty at times.”
Hall said the UK was currently “sandwiched” between an area of high pressure to the south and low pressure to the far north.
“It’s that area of high pressure that is keeping things settled and those patches of rain will mainly be over the hills, moors and over the Pennines,” he said.
He added that, despite calm conditions elsewhere, the Shetlands and the Orkney Isles could expect some fairly windy weather.
“It will be fairly mild everywhere as far as temperatures go.
“It will likely be in double figures in the south, 10C (50F), 12C (53.6F) or even 13C (55.4F) in some sheltered spots,” he said.
“You have to bear in mind the average is 8C-9C.”
Hall said it was likely to be a bit colder further north, but still with highs of 10C to 11C (51.8F).