Festive movies and TV shows often amusement delightful snowfall connected Christmas Day — but that’s not seldom the world successful the UK.
So erstwhile did this past hap successful the UK and London? And what are the chances this year?
Here’s what you request to know.
When was the past authoritative achromatic Christmas successful the UK?
The UK Met Office defines a achromatic Christmas arsenic erstwhile astatine slightest 1 snowflake is observed astatine 1 oregon much of its 11 reporting stations connected Christmas Day.
Traditionally, the organisation utilized a azygous determination to specify a achromatic Christmas: the Met Office gathering successful London.
However, arsenic involvement successful achromatic Christmases grew, the fig of reporting locations expanded to see sites crossed the UK, specified arsenic Buckingham Palace, Belfast’s Aldergrove Airport, Pittodrie Stadium successful Aberdeen, Edinburgh Castle, Manchester’s Coronation Street, and the Millennium Stadium successful Cardiff.
Before that, 9 per cent of upwind stations recorded falling snowfall successful 2022, but nary with snowfall settling.
People successful the snowfall successful Gateshead, north-east England, successful December 2023
PA
Both 2021 and 2020 were technically achromatic Christmases, with six per cent of upwind stations signaling snowfall falling. However, less than 1 per cent of stations reported snowfall lying connected the crushed successful 2021 and lone 4 per cent successful 2020.
There was nary grounds of snowfall falling astatine immoderate presumption successful the UK successful 2018 oregon 2019.
The past wide achromatic Christmas successful the UK was successful 2010. The Met Office said this was highly antithetic due to the fact that not lone was determination snowfall connected the crushed astatine 83 per cent of stations (the highest magnitude ever recorded), but snowfall oregon sleet besides fell astatine 19 per cent.
We besides had a achromatic Christmas successful 2009, erstwhile 13 per cent of stations recorded snowfall oregon sleet falling, and 57 per cent reported snowfall lying connected the ground.
When did it past snowfall successful London connected Christmas Day?
A achromatic Christmas successful London, wherever temperatures are typically higher than successful the countryside, is adjacent rarer.
The superior has officially experienced six achromatic Christmases since 1960: 1964, 1968, 1970, 1976, 1996, and 1999.
This means it has been 25 years since London past had a achromatic Christmas.
What are the likelihood of London having a achromatic Christmas successful 2024?
Bookmakers annually compile lists of the places astir apt to spot a achromatic Christmas.
The Online Betting Guide (OLBG) claims Newcastle and Edinburgh are the astir apt places to spot snowfall this twelvemonth — with 36.4 per cent odds.
These are followed by Belfast (22.2 per cent), Dublin (16.7 per cent) and Cardiff (14.3 per cent). London is ninth connected this list, with lone 10 per cent odds.
You tin possibly instrumentality that with a pinch of brackish for now, though. As MyLondon reports, the Met Office had said it’s intolerable to foretell a achromatic Christmas accurately a period earlier the large day.
“Despite what immoderate headlines suggest, it’s not imaginable to accurately prime retired an nonstop day for snowfall to deed the UK weeks successful advance, but we bash person immoderate long-range outputs that tin assistance america to recognize the chances,” Mark Sidaway, lawman main meteorologist, told the publication.
“Different projections of the aboriginal are tally aggregate times done upwind forecasting models. Often these volition beryllium rather akin astatine abbreviated ranges, but by the clip you get weeks ahead, these tin person a important scope of imaginable upwind conditions successful the future. It’s our occupation arsenic meteorologists to look astatine each these projections and recognize what it’s telling america astir the likelihood of conditions.”