UK Weather: No white Christmas but forecasters predict a 'lovely day'
24 December 2019, 06:28
Chances of a white Chrismas are slim, as the Met Office predicts almost all parts of the UK will have fine weather on Christmas Day.
The day is set to start our frosty and foggy, while people in most parts of the country are likely to see the wintry weather lift and make way for sunshine later.
However, a white Christmas is not on the cards, according to the forecaster, and only mountainous areas in Scotland stand a chance of seeing any snow.
"Christmas Day is looking like a lovely day for pretty much the whole of the UK," according to Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst.
"It will be a cold start in the morning with some fog, but once that clears we are looking at a dry day across the country with sunny spells."
Peak temperatures are likely to range from around 6C in northern parts of the UK to around 9C in the south, he added.
The thickest of the morning fog is likely to be in Wales and central and western parts of England.
The last declared white Christmas was in 2010, which saw snow on the ground at 83 per cent of the Met Office's weather stations.
A white Christmas was also reported in 2009 when 13 per cent of stations recorded snow or sleet falling, and 57 per cent reported snow lying on the ground.
Technically, the Met Office says, 2015 was also a white Christmas in the UK with 10 per cent of weather stations recording snow falling, however, none reported any snow lying on the ground.
It is highly unlikely that there will be any significant snowfall this year, Mr Dewhurst said, adding: "If there is any snow it will be over the tops of Scottish mountains, which we don't class as a white Christmas."
Before the arrival of the pleasant conditions on December 25, the Met Office is predicting that thunderstorms will hit parts of south Wales and south-west England on Christmas Eve.
A severe yellow weather warning has been issued which states that there may be damage to a few buildings and power outages, with delays to journeys by rail or road also possible.
But what is a white Christmas? The Met Office has to record a single snowflake falling at any one of a number of observation locations in the UK including Buckingham Palace, Edinburgh Castle and the Millennium Stadium in order to class a Christmas as white.
This has happened on 38 of the last 54 Christmas Days.
