THE Met Office has issued an urgent Christmas Day warning as Brits could be at risk of serious injury.
Families planning to travel across the country on Christmas Eve are being told to brace for any last minute changes thanks to Storm Pia battering down.
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Forecasters are predicting wintry showers overnight on Sunday will mean the big day is rain-soaked with fierce gusts.
Wind is expected to reach 70mph in parts, say the Met Office, as they issue a yellow warning on Monday for Scotland.
Travel disruption could cause issues with power cuts also potentially occurring in places.
Damage to buildings is also a possibility as the weather service warns flying debris could cause Brits some injuries.
Christmas Day morning is set to be neither merry nor bright for most, with rain across parts of England and Wales.
However, a white Christmas – defined as a single snowflake falling on December 25 – is likely for a short period over high ground in the far north of Scotland.
Met Office spokesman Stephen Dixon said: “There’s potentially going to be some travel disruption on Christmas Eve, to the east of the Pennines in particular, because of that wind.
“It’s also going to be a very windy day in Scotland as well, so a chance of some travel disruption and power cuts, particular given the wind we saw recently with Storm Pia.
“As we get into Christmas Day, the outlook is looking rather unsettled at first, there are weather fronts draped over the UK and it’s looking likely that we’ll have rain across much of England and Wales and indeed some showers in parts of western and southern Scotland.
“This will gradually clear up during the day, some people may get a clearer spell in the afternoon, so an unsettled day.
“In terms of a white Christmas, it looks likely, with wintry showers possible over high ground in the far north of Scotland, but not widespread.”
A yellow alert has also been issued for snow and ice across Shetland over the weekend, with possible accumulations of 2-5cm of snow.
On Saturday a yellow rain warning will be issued across parts of Wales, lasting until the evening of December 24.
It comes after Storm Pia yesterday sparked Christmas getaway chaos as 80mph winds battered Britain and halted festive travel plans.
Strong winds blasted most of the country, with felled trees blocking roads, dozens of flights grounded and trains cancelled.
The Eurostar was suddenly halted yesterday by a workers’ strike, trapping those trying to get home for their winter holiday.
British Airways grounded two dozen domestic and European flights to and from London Heathrow, including multiple links to and from Amsterdam.
One easyJet flight was forced to divert from Gatwick to Luton after it was buffeted by crosswinds.
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow were also among the routes experiencing cancellations.
All trains to and from London Euston were cancelled after overhead electric wires toppled onto the lines at Watford Junction.
The concourse at Euston was packed with passengers who had hoped to get a train home for Christmas from the station.
Pilots battled to land a diverted plane at Birmingham Airport in 50mph crosswinds.
A Finnair flight from Helsinki to Manchester also aborted its landing moments before its wheels touched the tarmac.
TransPennine Express issued a “Do Not Travel” warning until 3pm for customers planning to head to and from Edinburgh.
ScotRail had also cancelled trains along seven routes including Inverness to Aberdeen.
Kings Cross St Pancras was flooded with distraught travellers left stranded by the Eurostar walkout earlier.
All schools in the Shetland Islands were shut as locals bunker down against the storm.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Locals reeled as the wind blew smashed glass into the entrance of an M&S in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
A telephone line burst into flames in Barnsley during the storm, sparking a power outage.
