'Just a chance' of a white Christmas, says Met Office

There is "just a chance" of the UK experiencing its first white Christmas in two years, the Met Office has predicted.

Temperatures are set to drop on Christmas Day, with less than 7C (44.6F) forecast across the country.

As the weather turns colder and drier, those on the south coast of England have the greatest chance of seeing festive snow flurries, according to Met Office meteorologist Marco Petagna.

"By Christmas Day, (temperatures will be) no better than 5-7C (41-44.6F) across the UK, so quite a drop from what we've seen of late, and feeling cold in that wind, as well," he said.

"On Christmas Day, we need to keep an eye on the far south of the UK, particularly the south coast of England. There's just a chance we could see one or two wintry flurries developing.

"There's only a 10% chance of anything significant developing there, but all we need, of course, is for a flake of snow to fall anywhere across the UK for it to technically be termed a 'white Christmas', so something to keep an eye on across the far south of England."

The last white Christmas seen in the UK was in 2023, when 11% of weather stations reported snow falling, but not settling.

Temperatures during the festive period have been above average in the last two years, with the previous "very cold" Christmas occurring in 2010, when 83% of weather stations recorded snow on the ground, Mr Petagna said.

But a white Christmas card scenery is unlikely to manifest this year, as the Met Office predicts any snow is unlikely to settle.

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"In terms of the showers that we're looking at, there's a chance of a bit of sleet or wet snow falling, rather than any significant accumulations," Mr Petagna explained.

"For most, (there will be) a lot of dry, chilly weather around, with the best of the brightness towards the west and the north west."

The lowest temperature ever recorded on Christmas Day in the UK was a low of -18.3C (-0.94F) recorded in Gainford, Durham, in 1878.

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