Those dreaming of a White Christmas may just be getting exactly what they’re looking for – and in parts of the country you might not expect.
Weather maps suggest that a substantial dose of snow might accompany the festive season this year, with much of it in the more southern regions of the UK.
Areas of the north of England and the Midlands are currently predicted by WXCharts to see as much as 2cm of snowfall.
The predicted area even reaches as far south as London and Cardiff as the day progresses, according to current estimates.
With snow in parts of the western Highlands and around Inverness overnight on Christmas Eve however, it could only be those in north Scotland that will actually wake up on Christmas morning to find themselves in a snowy winter wonderland.
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The Met Office has been less certain of the likelihood of snowfall, particularly snow that will settle.
Forecasters say there is a “small chance” of wintry weather for parts of the UK at the end of the year, but rain may be more probable on Christmas Day itself.
The biggest chance of rain is expected in the North West through Christmas week, according to weather maps, which show a higher possibility of snow in those areas on December 23.
However, the weather agency said there is an increasing chance of snow and ice late in December and into the New Year period.
Sky News weather producer, Christopher England, said the forecast for the festive period remains “very uncertain” because it is still two weeks away, but added: “It really doesn’t look like a white Christmas away from Scottish hills.”
But for the Met Office, the weather service’s long-range forecast says that the “chance of a colder spell of weather, with hazards such as snow and ice” will increase in the days after Christmas and into 2024.
On Christmas day, “unsettled conditions and typically nearer average temperatures” are expected nationwide. There is also “a potential for short-lived colder interludes” in parts.
The Met Office says it is only able to accurately forecast whether snow is likely on any day up to five days beforehand.
The long-range projection for Saturday December 16 to Christmas Day says “more settled weather” will continue into the weekend.
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It adds: “Northern and western Scotland are likely to remain wetter and windier, but exceptionally mild. Settled conditions in the South with above-average temperatures here too, but cloudy at times with some patchy light rain, mainly near Western coasts and over hills.
“Clearer spells favoured in the South, but these also allow potential for fog overnight.”
The UK’s last white Christmas technically took place in 2022, when 9 percent of weather stations recorded snowfall.
According to the Met Office’s definition, it is a “white Christmas” if one snowflake falls in the 24 hours of 25 December in specific locations including; Buckingham Palace, Belfast (Aldergrove Airport), Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC), Edinburgh (Castle), Coronation Street in Manchester and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
The last time Britain saw substantial snow on the ground on Christmas Day was in 2010, at 83 percent of stations.
Met Office Five Day Weather Forecast
Tonight:
Rather cloudy this evening and overnight tonight, with showers or outbreaks of rain becoming increasingly confined to southeast Scotland and eastern England. Some clear spells developing in the northwest with a patchy frost forming.
Wednesday:
Staying cloudy for eastern England, with some patchy rain. Elsewhere, generally dry and bright with sunny spells. Rain arriving across the far northwest by the evening. Feeling cooler for most.
Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:
Showery rain clearing southeast to sunnier skies through Thursday. Mostly cloudy on Friday and Saturday, with drizzle for hills in the north and west. Breezy, with temperatures above average.
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