Cold snap set to vanish from Hartlepool on Monday when temperatures will reach double figures

But the Arctic conditions are set to dramatically change – thankfully as far as many people are concerned – from Monday, December 19.

After a bout of overnight rain, weather experts at the Met Office say temperatures could even rise as high as an unseasonal 13 degrees Celsius before dropping back to an average December temperature of 9 degrees Celsius on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Similar temperatures are predicted on Thursday and Friday with Saturday, December 24, promising sunny spells and highs of 7 degrees Celsius.

As for Christmas Day itself, forecasters have yet to be too specific although they do say generally that “temperatures will remain rather cold in the north with wintry showers likely”.