Wales weather: Will there be snow this Christmas?

  • Published
Sabrina Lee
Image caption,

Will we get snow this Christmas? BBC Wales weather presenter Sabrina Lee says it can be tricky to forecast due to minor changes in temperature making all the difference

If you're dreaming of a white Christmas, you may not want to get your hopes up just yet.

The current forecast for Wales indicates mild, damp and breezy conditions.

At the moment, the greatest chance of snow in the UK is over the Scottish Highlands.

But, as always, the forecast will continue to change, with over a week to go until the big day.

When was the last official white Christmas?

The definition the Met Office uses for a white Christmas is for one snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December anywhere in the UK.

Traditionally, it used to use a single location in the country to define a white Christmas, which was the Met Office building in London. But the number of locations increased to include sites across the UK, such as the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Please enable Javascript or try a different browser.View original content on Twitter
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
Skip twitter post by Derek Brockway - weatherman

Allow Twitter content?

This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.

The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites.
End of twitter post by Derek Brockway - weatherman

Technically, 2022 was the last white Christmas in the UK, with 9% of stations recording snow falling.

But none reported any snow lying on the ground.

Image source, Granddadscott
Image caption,

Weather Watcher Granddadscott from Llanbister, Powys, sent a wintry scene to the BBC last month

The last widespread white Christmas was in 2010 when there was snow on the ground at 83% of stations - the highest amount ever recorded - and snow or sleet also fell at 19% of stations.

The deepest recorded snow on a Christmas day in Wales was 45cm (17.7 in) at Cae Poeth, Gwynedd, also in 2010.