We’ve got some fantastic news for the Bing Crosbys of the country: it’s officially a white Christmas in the UK!
And we’ve got some not-so-great news for the Bing Crosbys of the country: most of you dreaming of a white Christmas won’t be getting one.
The Met Office has given its final verdict on the most anticipated weather forecast of the year, and it’s certainly a mixed message.
Once again, it’s time to trot out the same fact that comes up in every news story about this kind of thing.
For an official ‘white Christmas’ to be declared in the UK, all that has to happen is a single snowflake falling somewhere in the country at some point on December 25.
And it seems like that’s a pretty safe prediction to make this year. In fact, some parts of Scotland above 300 metres could get between five and 10 centimetres of the white stuff.
But for most of the UK, it’s not just a different picture – it’s like an entirely different season.
Forecasters believe today could be up there with the hottest Christmas days on record, with the exceptionally mild conditions pushing temperatures as high as 14C.
The warmest Christmas Day ever recorded was in 1920, when parts of the country reached 15.6C.
There’s a strong chance this year might become the hottest since 15.1C was hit in 2016.
Yesterday was the warmest Christmas Eve recorded by the Met Office for more than 25 years after the mercury got up to 15.3C.
Liam Eslick, a forecaster with the weather agency, said: ‘It’s been an exceptionally mild couple of days across all of the UK, temperatures have been well above average for the time of year, the maximum for December being 7C.’
Rather than snow, much of the country will get drizzle, while Wales is expected to be hit by some heavy rain.
A yellow weather warning for wind covering much of Scotland expired at midnight, though blustery conditions are likely to continue.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
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