UK weather map: Met Office’s snow forecast for Christmas week
The 25 December itself is expected to be a ‘grey Christmas’ – but all hope of a white Christmas season is not lost
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Your support makes all the difference.The Met Office has revealed where and when snow is expected to fall in the UK over the Christmas period.
The 25 December itself is expected to be a “grey Christmas” rather than a White Christmas, with some sunny spells and “extremely mild” temperatures.
However, temperatures are likely to drop in areas around the turn of the year, bringing a chance of snow for some parts of the country.
The forecaster predicts: “Around the turn of the year, it looks more probable that colder, more showery conditions will likely make at least some ingress into northern and perhaps central areas, bringing a risk of some impacts from ice, sleet and snow.”
However, the start of this week is set to see improved conditions, after a “perfect storm” of adverse weather conditions and road congestion led to widespread disruption during the Christmas getaway.
More than 100 flights at Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, were cancelled on Sunday, while dozens of ferry routes in Scotland and Ireland were not running, and Northern Rail cancelled all trains on 11 routes.
Snow over the weekend also caused chaos on the M62, with one lane closed, as millions took to the country’s motorways during the festive period.
Looking ahead to the upcoming week, Met Office meteorologist Dan Stroud said: “We’re expecting to see some sunny spells further east and a lot of cloud from the west.
“Temperatures should rise considerably and it will be extremely mild over Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
“In England and Wales, temperatures will be well above average with some grey in the mix.
“We’re expecting an average of around 12C or 13C on Christmas Eve and 11C or 12C on Christmas Day. The usual average for this time of year is 7C or 8C so we’ll be around double where we usually are.
“Overnight temperatures in Scotland for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day will be extremely mild.”
Dan Harris of the Met Office added: “Temperatures are expected to be widely mild, so if you are hoping for a blanket of snow across the country on Christmas Day, I’m sorry to say you will be disappointed.”
However, temperatures are forecast to probably return to closer to normal by the start of the new year.
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