When will it next snow in the UK and will it be a white Christmas?
It’s that time of year again when the weather gets colder, knitted sweaters appear and people dream of a ‘white Christmas’.
There was up to 25cm of snowfall in some parts of England last week, and a yellow weather warning was issued in some areas on Thursday.
But the UK may have to wait a little longer to see more snow this winter, with a potential ‘white Christmas’ still open, according to the Met Office.
The forecaster told Independent: “There is no significant snowfall in the current forecast period, with the mild western regime bringing a mix of both sunny and rainy spells throughout this week.
“There is a chance of some sleet on the Scottish mountaintops towards the end of the week, but there is no sign of lower levels of snow in the current forecast.”
In its long-term forecast, the Met Office says “volatile and unstable conditions are expected across the UK” from this Saturday until Monday 8 December.
“Low pressure systems will tend to dominate across much of the UK, meaning showers or longer spells of rain, but there will also likely be some short spells,” it said.
“Some heavy rain or showers are expected, mostly in the West, but there is a risk that some of this will spread to other areas at times. Snow will likely remain confined to higher ground in the North.”
“Periods of strong winds are possible, particularly if areas of deep low pressure develop around the coasts and near the UK. Some brief periods of drier weather are possible, particularly in the South East. Temperatures are likely to be close to average or slightly above average.”
Will it be a ‘white Christmas’?
Met Office said Independent: “It is too early to speculate whether we will see a white Christmas this year.”
Forecasters usually start to have a clear idea of the chances of seeing any flurries on the big day in the week before Christmas.
The Met Office said that for it to qualify as a ‘white Christmas’, a single snowflake must be observed falling somewhere in the UK during the 24 hours of Christmas Day.
Last year the Met Office predicted a “grey Christmas” with rain and clouds accompanied by mild temperatures.
The last technically ‘white Christmas’ in the UK was in 2023; 11 percent of weather stations recorded snowfall, but none reported snow on the ground.
The last time it snowed extensively at Christmas was in 2010; this was the highest year on record, with 83 percent of stations recording snow on the ground.
More than half of all Christmas Days since 1960 have been considered ‘white Christmas’, as about half of the year saw at least 5 percent of station networks reporting snowfall on the big day.
But the chances of the snow actually settling are slim, and the event has only occurred four times in 1981, 1995, 2009 and 2010.
