Festive films and TV reveals typically present pleasant snowfall on Christmas Day — however that’s not not often the truth within the UK.
So when did this final occur within the UK and London? And what are the probabilities this yr?
Right here’s what that you must know.
When was the final official white Christmas within the UK?
The UK Met Workplace defines a white Christmas as when at the least one snowflake is noticed at a number of of its 11 reporting stations on Christmas Day.
Historically, the organisation used a single location to outline a white Christmas: the Met Workplace constructing in London.
Nevertheless, as curiosity in white Christmases grew, the variety of reporting places expanded to incorporate websites throughout the UK, corresponding to Buckingham Palace, Belfast’s Aldergrove Airport, Pittodrie Stadium in Aberdeen, Edinburgh Fortress, Manchester’s Coronation Road, and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Earlier than that, 9 per cent of climate stations recorded falling snow in 2022, however none with snow settling.
Folks within the snow in Gateshead, north-east England, in December 2023
PA
Each 2021 and 2020 had been technically white Christmases, with six per cent of climate stations recording snow falling. Nevertheless, fewer than one per cent of stations reported snow mendacity on the bottom in 2021 and solely 4 per cent in 2020.
There was no document of snow falling at any station within the UK in 2018 or 2019.
The final widespread white Christmas within the UK was in 2010. The Met Workplace mentioned this was extraordinarily uncommon as a result of not solely was there snow on the bottom at 83 per cent of stations (the best quantity ever recorded), however snow or sleet additionally fell at 19 per cent.
We additionally had a white Christmas in 2009, when 13 per cent of stations recorded snow or sleet falling, and 57 per cent reported snow mendacity on the bottom.
When did it final snow in London on Christmas Day?
A white Christmas in London, the place temperatures are usually increased than within the countryside, is even rarer.
The capital has formally skilled six white Christmases since 1960: 1964, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1996, and 1999.
This implies it has been 25 years since London final had a white Christmas.
What are the percentages of London having a white Christmas in 2024?
Bookmakers yearly compile lists of the locations almost certainly to see a white Christmas.
The On-line Betting Information (OLBG) claims Newcastle and Edinburgh are the almost certainly locations to see snowfall this yr — with 36.4 per cent odds.
These are adopted by Belfast (22.2 per cent), Dublin (16.7 per cent) and Cardiff (14.3 per cent). London is ninth on this record, with solely 10 per cent odds.
You’ll be able to maybe take that with a pinch of salt for now, although. As MyLondon experiences, the Met Workplace had mentioned it’s unimaginable to foretell a white Christmas precisely a month earlier than the large day.
“Regardless of what some headlines recommend, it’s not potential to precisely pick a precise date for snow to hit the UK weeks upfront, however we do have some long-range outputs that may assist us to grasp the probabilities,” Mark Sidaway, deputy chief meteorologist, informed the publication.
“Completely different projections of the long run are run a number of occasions by means of climate forecasting fashions. Typically these can be fairly comparable at brief ranges, however by the point you get weeks forward, these can have a big vary of potential climate situations sooner or later. It’s our job as meteorologists to have a look at all these projections and perceive what it’s telling us in regards to the chance of situations.”
