What is the likelihood of a white Christmas in the UK?

If you feel the cold, you might have noticed the weather taking a wintry turn lately - putting us in mind of possible snow to come.

Transcript

00:00The idea of a white Christmas is enchanting, evoking memories of holiday scenes draped

00:06in snow. However, snow on Christmas Day is not as common in the UK as many might hope.

00:11Data from the Met Office shows that December typically sees less snow than later winter

00:15months, averaging about 3.9 days of snow or sleet. The Met Office defines a white Christmas

00:20as any recorded snowfall, even if just one snowflake. While half of Christmases since

00:251960 have technically qualified, the traditional image of widespread snow coverage is rare.

00:31Since then, only four Christmases have had significant snow lying on the ground, 1981,

00:351995, 2009 and 2010. The last official white Christmas was in 2022, when snow fell at 9

00:42per cent of UK stations. The last widespread snow cover was in 2010, with 83 per cent of

00:47stations reporting snow on the ground. While forecasts for snow on Christmas Day can be

00:52accurate within five days, climate change and calendar changes have reduced the likelihood

00:57of classic snowy scenes. But come snow or shine, where will you be spending the season?

01:02And if money were no object, where would you go?