Snow is expected this month but it awaits to be seen whether the UK will see a White Christmas – the Met Office, BBC and Netweather have released their latest predictions
With Christmas Day just a few weeks away, Brits across the country will be checking the weather forecasts for any suggestion that we might see snow on December 25.
An official White Christmas is declared when a single snowflake falls anywhere in the UK during the 24 hours of December 25, according to the Met Office. This means 2023 was technically the UK’s last White Christmas as 11% of weather stations recorded snow falling.
2022, 2021 and 2020 were also, technically, White Christmases. However, the last widespread White Christmas was 2010 when there was snow on the ground at 83% of weather stations.
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Met Office’s latest Christmas weather forecast
The Met Office’s latest forecast for the Christmas period covers December 21 to January 4. In it, the national weather agency says “changeable conditions” are expected across the UK.
Low pressure systems are expected to dominate, the Met Office says, “meaning showers or longer spells of rain, heavy at times, for much of the UK and some hill snow in the north”.
The Met Office adds: “Periods of strong wind are also possible, especially around coasts. Some drier, more settled spells are possible but how long these last is very uncertain. Temperatures will likely be close to average or slightly above overall.”
BBC’s latest Christmas weather forecast
The BBC’s long range forecast covers December 22 to January 4, and says the “most probable” outcome is “further changeable weather, with occasional rain or showers and periods of strong winds”.
BBC forecasters expect “mostly mild conditions” to prevail, with a few “brief colder intervals” on the cards too. “Any snow should still be confined mainly to northern uplands,” the forecast states.
However, it adds that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) – a large-scale atmospheric pressure pattern over the North Atlantic – may switch from positive to negative, which would bring a “growing chance of colder weather”.
Netweather’s latest Christmas weather forecast
Netweather’s forecast for December 22 to December 30 suggests the period will be dominated “mainly by high pressure”, with temperatures “closer to average”.
It adds: “It currently looks relatively unlikely to be a white Christmas because of the dominance of the high pressure, but at this range there is uncertainty and the possibility of a short-lived northerly or north-easterly blast with wintry showers during the period cannot be ruled out.
“Temperatures on the whole look likely to be closer to average, potentially on the cold side in the south, more likely to be milder than average in the north, with precipitation well below normal.”
