Forecasters are growing more confident on the chances of snow landing in Scotland over Christmas this year.
Temperatures across the country are expected to plummet in the lead up to December 25, with the weather remaining generally settled over the coming days.
But early modelling is showing that it could all change in time for the big day as some show that there is a possibility of snowfall for the country.
Weather website WXCharts is predicting that the white stuff could land in parts of the Highlands, the north east and Fife from Christmas morning.
As the day progresses, the temperatures are expected to plummet to as low as -4C in some parts of the country.
And the thermostat is set to get lower on Boxing Day, with parts of the north and west forecast to see lows of -6C in the evening.
Scots meteorologist Sean Batty tweeted: “Thursday will be the last day that many of us will have double figure temperatures until after Christmas, with colder drier weather developing.
“Some recent models showing possibility of snow Christmas Day and Boxing Day - one I will be keeping a very close eye on.”
Edinburgh and Glasgow are among the favourites in terms of cities to potentially experience a White Christmas this year, according to bookmakers Coral.
The odds on snow falling in the capital currently stand at 2-1, with Glasgow tipped at 5-2.
Forecasters say that the last time the UK experienced a widespread White Christmas came in 2010, when snow was reported on the ground at 83 per cent of weather stations in the UK.
Forecasters are able to declare a white Christmas if ‘one snowflake is observed falling in the 24 hours of December 25 somewhere in the UK’.
Met Office experts can accurately forecast the likelihood of snow falling on Christmas Day up to five days beforehand.
Forecasters recently changed the definition of a white Christmas due to more people betting on the possibility.
A spokesperson for the Met Office said: “Traditionally we used to use a single location in the country to define a white Christmas, which was the Met Office building in London. However, with the increase in betting on where will see a white Christmas, the number of locations have increased and can now include sites such as Buckingham Palace, Belfast (Aldergrove Airport), Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC), Edinburgh (Castle), Coronation Street in Manchester and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
“We also analyse the data from our observing stations around the UK to provide a complete picture of where snow has fallen or was lying on Christmas Day.”
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