A White Christmas remains a long shot for Aylesbury Vale, forecaster concedes

With Christmas just around the corner, excitement builds as the infamous question is posed - will there be a white Christmas?!

White Christmases are defined as one snowflake observed in the UK during the 24-hour period of 25 December. The traditional way of recording a white Christmas used to be in a single location – the Met Office building historically located in London – yet nowadays there are many locations where a white Christmas can be observed; Buckingham Palace, Edinburgh Castle and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff for example.

Statistically we are more likely to see snow falling in January, February, and March, with the average number of falling snow days being higher than in December. Last year was a white Christmas, but only 9 per cent of the weather stations recorded falling snow on December 25th, with no snow reported lying on the ground.

This is a far cry from the Dickensian white Christmas that we expect to see, usually depicted with snowy scenes on Christmas cards and in Charles Dickens’ stories. Yet Dickens was living in an era known as the Little Ice Age, between 1550 and 1850, where cold, harsh winters would see the River Thames in London freeze over. The last time there was such a widespread white Christmas was 2010; this being unusual with a whopping 83% of stations recording snow on the ground, whilst 19 per cent of stations across the UK reported falling snow.

So, will it be the white Christmas many dream of? While it may turn a touch colder over the Christmas period following a very mild spell of weather, snow looks unlikely in Buckinghamshire. However, it will be possible for Scotland and northern England.

Weather in the lead up to Christmas is set to be more chaotic in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Met Office has issued a warning covering the entirety of Scotland this Thursday (21 December). Gusts that could reach up to 80 miles per hour could cause a risk to life in certain parts of Scotland this week.