Met Office raises hopes for snow on Christmas Day: Forecasters give verdict on ‘technically very likely’ white Christmas… but say it isn’t so for the ‘vast majority’

• Northern Pennines and Scottish Highlands most likely to go white this year

A white Christmas is still ‘technically speaking’ very highly likely, the Met Office has said.

Fresh hopes of snow on Christmas Day were raised as temperatures are set to drop to as low as -8C in northern Scotland towards this weekend.

The Met Office threshold for a White Christmas is met when at least one snowflake falls on December 25 anywhere in the UK.

According to the agency, the northern Pennines and the Scottish Highlands were the most likely to go white this year, with 2021 being the last year the technical definition was met.

But for a picturesque Christmas Day, Britons have to think back to 2010 – the year of the ‘big freeze’ – for the last time the festive season was greeted with widespread settled snow.

A ‘technical’ white Christmas is ‘very likely’ this year, the Met Office has said

But Britons will probably not wake up to a blanket of snow on Christmas Day this year, with picturesque weather not seen on December 25 since 2010

It comes as the Met Office issued a yellow warning for wind for Scotland, Northern Ireland and swathes of northern England on Thursday

Gusts of wind are could reach 70-80mph along exposed coasts and to the east of high ground

Pictured: People walk in the snow in Victoria Park on December 2 this year

Met Office spokesperson Grahame Madge told the Mirror that cold air was set to come in from the North and could even travel as far south as the Midlands.

But he added that Britons were unlikely to wake up to a blanket of snow on Christmas morning this year, with a technical ‘white Christmas’ far more probable.

It comes as a yellow warning for wind was issued for Scotland, Northern Ireland and swathes of northern England on Thursday, with gusts expected of up to 80mph on ‘exposed coasts and to the east of high ground’.

Matthew Lehnert, the Met Office’s Chief Metereologist said: ‘This weekend will be mild across the UK with high pressure in the south maintaining a settled theme. However, a slow-moving front will bring a spell of heavy rain to northwest Scotland.’ 

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