Christmas is nearly upon us, and this year will hopefully feel a bit more normal after Covid put paid to many of the celebrations in 2020.
And one of the perennial questions everyone’s already asking is: are we going to get a white Christmas?
People have been obsessed with white Christmases for decades, spurred on by idealised representations of the festive season. Charles Dickens, we’re looking at you.
And this year is no exception – although we’ve seen plenty of rain so far, there hasn’t been a hint of snow.
So before you waste all Christmas Day staring out the window waiting for that one precious flake to fall, we’re here to being you the latest on whether there will actually be snow this Christmas, as is so often promised.
What are the latest white Christmas odds in the UK?
Ladbrokes are offering odds of 2/1 on the white stuff falling anywhere in the UK on Christmas Day – with Edinburgh being seen as the most likely place to have snow, at 3/1.
So it’s looking hopeful for those of you in Scotland – but London residents look far less likely to see snow on Christmas Day, with odds of 5/1 on festive flakes.
The rest of the odds are as follows:
- Glasgow – 7/2
- Newcastle – 7/2
- Birmingham -7/2
- Belfast – 4/1
- Dublin – 4/1
- Manchester – 4/1
- Cardiff – 5/1
- London – 5/1
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes said: ‘Plenty of punters will be dreaming of a White Christmas this year, and the odds suggest they could well get their wish, with 2/1 being on offer for any part of the UK to wake up to snow on December 25th.’
How likely is a white Christmas?
The Met Office can accurately forecast whether snow is likely on any given Christmas Day up to five days beforehand.
Around half of the years since 1960 have seen at least five per cent of the network of locations recording snow on Christmas Day.
Widespread snow is much rarer. There has only been a widespread covering of snow on the ground recorded at 40% of weather stations in the UK four times in the last 51 years – in 1981, 1995, 2009 and 2010.
What is a white Christmas?
When most people think of a white Christmas, they picture blankets of snow covering hillsides for miles around.
In fact, Christmas can be white if at least one solitary snowflake falls in a specific location during the 24 hours of Christmas day, according to the Met Office.
How will we know if it’s a white Christmas?
Traditionally the Met Office used its building in London to decide whether it had been a white Christmas.
However, as betting increased, several other locations were added to the list. These include:
- Buckingham Palace,
- Belfast (Aldergrove Airport),
- Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC),
- Edinburgh (Castle),
- Coronation Street in Manchester,
- The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
When was the last white Christmas in the UK?
The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010, when 83% of weather stations recorded snow on the ground.
More recently 2020 was recorded as a white Christmas, after snow fell in parts of East Yorkshire and Suffolk.
Perthshire, Scotland had 47cm of snow on December 25, 1981, the deepest figure ever recorded, while Gainford, Durham, had the coldest Christmas Day in 1878 at -18.3C.
According to the Met Office the UK averages 3.9 days of snow and sleet in December – although snowfall is much more likely after the festive season, with an average of 5.3 days in January.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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from News – Metro https://ift.tt/3ccXWjQ
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