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Wales Online
Wales Online
National
Neil Shaw

Now more likely than not we will have a White Christmas, experts say

With Christmas just weeks away and major snowfall forecast this week, many Brits are hopeful that this year will be a White Christmas, but what are the chances of this actually happening?

The experts at OLBG have revealed there is a 55% chance of a White Christmas after December has gotten off to a chilly start.

The odds have revealed:

  • With the Met Office responding to reports of the return of the ‘Beast from the East’, bookies have given odds of 4/5 that the UK will see snow on Christmas Day.

  • The odds of a White Christmas had previously been slashed from 2/1 to 4/5 after a chilly couple of months and these odds remain the same just 3 weeks before Christmas.

Did you know?

  • The last time the UK experienced a widespread White Christmas was in 2010 when snow or sleet was reported at 83% of weather stations.

  • The Met Office defines a White Christmas by one snowflake falling in the 24 hours of 25th December.

  • Since 1960 there have only ever been four Christmas snow days occurring in 1981, 1995, 2009 and 2010.

  • According to the Met Office, snow or sleet falls 3.9 days on average during December.

Bookmaker Coral now makes it as short as 1-3 (from 1-2) that there will be a White Christmas in the UK this year (snow to fall on any major UK city on Christmas Day). Coral is also betting on which city will have a White Christmas. Edinburgh and Glasgow are both available at 2-1, Manchester is 4-1, while London is 5-1.

"Those dreaming of a White Christmas can be very hopeful that they will see snow on this big day this year," said Coral's John Hill. "The major Scottish cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow are most likely to have a White Christmas, but we are also seeing strong support for Manchester and London in England," added Hill.

Snow on Christmas Day

Odds

Probability

Glasgow (Airport)

3/1

25.0%

Edinburgh (Airport)

3/1

25.0%

Newcastle (Airport)

4/1

20.0%

Belfast (Airport)

4/1

20.0%

Manchester (Airport)

4/1

20.0%

Liverpool (Airport)

5/1

16.7%

Birmingham (Airport)

5/1

16.7%

London (City Airport)

6/1

14.3%

Cardiff (Airport)

6/1

14.3%

Dublin (Airport)

6/1

14.3%

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