The Met Office has spoken on the likelihood of a White Christmas in the UK, with forecasters suggesting that early signs of icy temperatures and snow flurries may not come to fruition.
Weather models have started to provide enough data to project conditions up to December 25, initially hinting at a frosty festive period. However, the national forecaster emphasises that it’s still too soon to confirm if snow will grace us on December 25.
Despite this week’s below-average temperatures, which saw a chilly -9.1C in Braemar, Aberdeenshire, on Tuesday, confidence in a snowy holiday remains tentative. It comes as weather maps from WX Chart predict a two day deep-freeze for Scotland, starting from Christmas Eve.
In a recent YouTube forecast, Met Office meteorologist Aidan McGivern remarked: “Certainly, there are no signs of a strong signal for a white Christmas. The computer models are run lots and lots of times and then we can pick out where areas where they are agreeing, and areas where they’re disagreeing and then we can talk about the most likely weather patterns.”
He added: “Some weather patterns are starting to appear in the computer model output and give a sense a small flavour of what we might expect for the week of Christmas. One commonly occurring theme is for higher pressure to the south, lower pressure towards Iceland and this strong westerly airflow… That higher pressure is the common theme in most of the computer model projections.”
According to forecasts, milder temperatures might be expected in the UK around Christmas Day, providing a break from the recent bitter cold, which saw lows of -9°C in Aberdeenshire and -6°C in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.
Forecaster Mr McGivern has cautioned that while predictions suggest less severe weather for the festive period, changes in computer models mean Britons should keep an eye on the latest updates as Christmas approaches, reports the Mirror.
Despite potential milder weather on the day, the overall forecast is for unsettled conditions with rain predicted across large parts of the country next week, with Scotland and Northern Ireland expected to experience the heaviest downpours. In contrast to the Met Office’s cautious stance, betting company Ladbrokes offers odds of 1⁄3 for snowfall in any part of the UK on Christmas Day.
Alex Apati of Ladbrokes commented: “It’s looking increasingly likely we’ll be waking up to the white stuff on Christmas Day, with a record-breaking cold December also on the cards.”
Moreover, with the chilly outlook set to persist, Ladbrokes rates this December as having a 2/1 chance of becoming the coldest ever recorded.
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