A new weather map has revealed the exact areas with the highest risk of snow chaos on Christmas Day.
The latest maps from Netweather show that northern England and the majority of Scotland are at the highest risk of experiencing heavy snow on Christmas Day. In contrast, London and most of the southeast and southwest will not see any snow at all, according to the latest weather maps and charts.
According to the maps, the Scottish highlands will see the highest amount of snow and so too will the surrounding towns and villages. In the south, southeast, and southwest, the likes of Wales and the majority of England will not see any snow at all. There had been predictions that the UK might see a white Christmas this year, but those odds have now dramatically worsened.
The weather maps believe that there will be 12cm of snow inthe north of England, while 23cm will be lying on the ground in the south west of Scotland. In a stark contrast, there will be no snow south of the Midlands, if weather maps are to be believed.
Speaking about the weather for December, a spokesperson for Netweather said: “As we approach the weekend, the jet stream which has been close to the south of Britain will begin to move further north, taking the rain-bearing systems with it and allowing high pressure to build from the south.
“This shift north in the jet stream will herald a drier and more settled spell for England and Wales from tomorrow through to the beginning of next week. However, it will turn much wetter across western Scotland – which has been the driest part of the UK so far this month.
“As the jet stream shifts north and high pressure builds north in its wake into the weekend, milder air will drawn up from quite a long way to the southwest, beyond the Azores. So it will turn milder by day and night, with temperatures widely in double figures.”
On whether there could be snow in the UK this Christmas Day, they added: “A lot of uncertainty for later next week, as would be expected at seven days plus away, but it does look to turn increasingly unsettled and windy Thursday, December 21 through to Christmas Eve – with potential for a deep low at some point in that period to bring disruptive gales or even severe gales and also, as cold polar air arrives in the mix eventually, the threat of disruptive snow in the north, especially higher ground.
“This is a period when a lot of people will be travelling before Christmas to spend time away for the Christmas period, visit relatives, etc. So worth making those reading aware there could be some disruptive weather in the run-up to Christmas from the middle of next week.”
Although there might not be as much snow as originally hoped, this doesn’t mean the UK won’t see some chilly weather over the festive period. Following reports of an Arctic freeze, the Met Office has weighed into offer its opinion of whether or not it will strike the UK.
A spokesperson for the Met Office told Express.co.uk that they were unable to forecast for Christmas day “let alone any further ahead”.
Chief Forecaster for the Met Office Paul Gundersen said: “The high pressure will draw up warmer air from the southwest and as we go into the coming weekend, we will see milder conditions by both day and by night for all. The Foehn effect could result in particularly mild conditions for areas such as east Scotland.
“It looks like this pattern will last into the first half of next week meaning the mild conditions will continue with some outbreaks of rain likely at times, mostly across the north and the northwest.
“Later next week and the days running up to Christmas there are some suggestions that the jet stream will drift further south, allowing conditions to turn more widely unsettled.
“There is also a chance of winds switching to more of a northwesterly direction, allowing conditions to become a little colder, with a risk of some wintry showers developing in the north. At this stage, there is very little sign of any widespread or severe cold and wintry weather.”
These new predictions come as the countdown to Christmas continues and thousands of families across the country prepare for the annual journey to see loved ones. While the build-up to Christmas sees thousands of cars take to the roads, Christmas Day is also one of the busiest days for travel and traffic – while Brits have been warned by AA to avoid travelling home for Christmas on two specific days in a bid to reduce congestion across the country.
