WXCharts forecasts snow across southern England on December 21, with up to 5cm expected in Dorset, as the Met Office has given its verdict on the potential of a white Christmas
Snow is predicted to fall in parts of the UK just before Christmas. The latest maps from WXCharts forecast snow showers in southern England, including Hampshire, Dorset and Kent.
The charts suggest that the snow will start falling in the early hours of Sunday, December 21. Parts of Dorset, such as Weymouth, Poole and Bournemouth, are set for the heaviest snowfall, with up to 10mm per hour expected at 6am. The snow is likely to continue throughout the morning, with up to 5cm anticipated on the ground in Dorset by midday.
Meanwhile, Hampshire can also expect a dusting of snow around noon. WXCharts predicts heavier snowfall in the Waterlooville area of Havant, with up to 2cm likely to settle.
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Moving further east, there will be patches of snow in the Maidstone and Folkestone areas of Kent. The weather maps show up to 1mm of snow falling per hour from midday, reports the Express.
However, the Met Office’s long-range forecast, which covers Monday, December 15, to Wednesday, December 24, does not mention any snow. Instead, it forecasts more rain, which could be “heavy and prolonged at times”.
The Met Office added: “Some drier spells of weather are also likely, these most reliably across southeastern parts of the UK. Often windy, especially in the north and west where there is potential for a spell of very strong winds to develop for a time early next week.”
The coming period is expected to bring overnight frost and pockets of fog. The Met Office anticipates conditions will become “less disturbed” in the lead-up to Christmas.
This follows predictions from WXCharts suggesting snow could arrive mere hours before Christmas Day. The most recent forecasts feature a map showing northern Scotland turning purple at midnight on Wednesday, December 24, indicating snowfall across the Scottish Highlands and Cairngorms National Park.
A separate map suggests snow might arrive as early as Tuesday, December 23, particularly around 6pm, impacting locations including Inverness, Fort William, the Highlands, and the Cairngorms. Fellow forecaster NetWeather indicates the snow risk zone could extend for almost 400 miles, potentially even touching Northern England, although northern Scotland remains the main area likely to be affected.
The Met Office has previously highlighted the challenges of predicting snow in the UK, particularly weeks ahead of time. Minor variations in temperature, wind direction or precipitation can be the difference between snowfall and no snow at all.
