The UK has not seen snow on the ground on Christmas Day since 2015, the MET Office reports
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)It may be less than four weeks until Christmas, but temperatures have already plunged below zero for some parts of the UK.
With Storm Arwen bringing snow, ice and freezing temperatures to parts of Scotland and Northern England, the odds for a white Christmas have been slashed to their lowest levels since 2017.
The MET office is expecting further blankets of snow and freezing temperatures to unfold. Forecaster Tom Morgan said the sudden temperature drop was a result of an “Arctic shot.”
“As Storm Arwen is clearing out to Europe, a cold northerly flow of wind has been left behind in the UK, causing some of the bitterly cold temperatures we’ve seen,” he said.
William Hill’s odds on a white Christmas have since been slashed for 12 major airports around the UK.
Scottish Christmas market favourites, Edinburgh and Glasgow, have dropped to 3-1. Leeds also joins the top spot at 3-1, which holds the record for being the highest airport in the UK at 700ft above sea level.
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Manchester, Newcastle and Birmingham have been slashed to 4-1, and Liverpool has been cut to 7-2.
Dublin, Cardiff and Bristol all come in at 7-1. While Belfast (9-2) and London (6-1) complete the set.
The UK has not seen snow on the ground on Christmas Day since 2015. According to the MET Office, The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010, with 83 per cent of weather stations reporting snow on the ground (the highest amount ever recorded), while snow or sleet fell at 19 per cent of stations.
2017 saw 11 per cent of weather stations recording snow falling but none reported any snow lying on the ground.
The full list of William Hill’s odds for snow on Christmas Day:
Edinburgh (Airport) - 3/1
Leeds (Leeds-Bradford Airport) - 3/1
Glasgow (Airport) - 3/1
Liverpool (Airport) - 7/2
Newcastle (Airport) - 4/1
Birmingham (Airport) - 4/1
Manchester (Airport) - 4/1
Belfast (Airport) - 9/2
London (City Airport) - 6/1
Bristol (Airport) - 7/1
Dublin (Airport) - 7/1
Cardiff (Airport) - 7/1
