White Christmas 'likely' as Met Office issues fresh festive forecast
22 December 2023, 16:18
Some Brits are in for a White Christmas, the Met Office has confirmed.
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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."
He continued: "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.”
So while that means a White Christmas is likely going to happen this year, it won't be widespread.
What defines a White Christmas?
According to the Met Office's definition, it is a White Christmas if one snowflake falls in the 24 hours of 25 December somewhere in the UK.
While the national forecaster says the most accurate forecast for a White Christmas can be given between December 20 and 25, its long-range forecast now covers the big day.
The last white Christmas in the UK was in 2022, when nine percent of stations recorded snow falling.
Read More: Exact day snow will fall in January as Brits in for New Year cold snap
Read More: Exact day snow to start falling this week ahead of White Christmas
There were also White Christmases recorded in 2020 and 2021, though again, less than one percent of stations reported snow actually lying on the ground in 2021, and four percent in 2020.
There was no snow recorded in 2018 or 2019, according to the Met Office, and the last widespread White Christmas came in 2010, when there was snow at 83 percent of stations in the UK.
This was the highest ever amount recorded.
