An Arctic band of snow 10 times longer than Hadrian’s Wall could be set to blanket the UK in the white stuff just hours before Christmas Day.Odds for a Yuletide wintry covering are hovering around 1/5 for much of the nation north of the Midlands.
But it is the east of the country and Scotland looking the most likely to have a festive flakes. As these new maps from WXCharts show, a huge streak of purple, 800 miles long, stretches from Norfolk to the Shetland Islands early on Christmas Eve.
In some parts of Scotland snow could be falling at 2cm per hour with large drifts and deep pockets expected in the Highlands and sheltered glens. According to Netweather, 2010 was the last time most of the UK enjoyed a white Christmas with 80 percent of the country covered.
For the Met Office the definition of a white Christmas is for “one snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25 somewhere in the UK”. The national forecaster added: “Traditionally we used to use a single location in the country to define a white Christmas, which was the Met Office building in London.
“However, with the increase in betting on where will see a white Christmas, the number of locations have increased and can now include sites such as Buckingham Palace, Belfast (Aldergrove Airport), Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC), Edinburgh (Castle), Coronation Street in Manchester and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.”
“We also analyse the data from our observing stations around the UK to provide a complete picture of where snow has fallen or was lying on Christmas Day.”
The weather agency’s long-range forecast for December 20 to January 3 said the UK is likely to expect “unsettled” conditions. However, it added: “The chance of a colder spell of weather, with hazard such as snow and ice, does increase later in December and into the New Year period.”
If winter weather strikes scenes may mirror what large swathes of the UK, including northeast England, experienced last week when temperatures plunged to -12.5C in Altnaharra, Scottish Highlands and -9.4C in Shap, Cumbria.
More than 2,500 people in Cumbria were without electricity on Sunday morning, as the county’s fire and rescue service said it worked through the night to rescue drivers from cars trapped in deep snow.
Weather maps only go up to midnight on Christmas Eve so far, but they show some snowfall could reach as far south as Birmingham.
In terms of how much will lay remains to be seen, with some maps predicting some rural areas in the vicinity of Manchester may be more likely to see a dusting than other areas.
Netweather maps however paint a slightly different picture, which is especially evident as their maps creep up to 6pm on Christmas Eve. Maps show snow pulling further away from the eastern coast and falling over higher ground over this period.
But as always, the Scottish Highlands among some urban areas look set to see some snowy showers just hours before the big day.
