With Merseyside hit by freezing temperatures, many people will be wondering if we will be getting snow this Christmas.
The ECHO previously reported that further weather warnings had been put in place as the cold snap continues to freeze Liverpool. The Met Office warned that freezing fog and patches of ice are likely to cause delays this week.
A Level 3 Cold Weather Alert has been issued by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) covering all of England and is currently in place until to Friday, December 16. This week, we are likely to see more "freezing fog" and ice in Merseyside as temperatures could reach as low as -4C.
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But with Christmas just under two weeks away, what is the likelihood of snow? According to the Met Office's long forecast for next week, there is likely to be more "freezing fog" right up until Christmas Eve.
But heading into January, weather conditions remain "uncertain". Temperatures are expected to remain very cold towards the end of the year and into 2023.
For the week between December 16-25, the Met Office wrote: "Sleet and snow showers are likely to continue across the north and east, and perhaps into the southwest of the UK at the beginning of the period, although these should be mainly confined to coastal regions.
"Elsewhere it should be mostly dry, clear and often sunny further inland with light to moderate winds. Generally feeling cold to very cold, with widespread frosts overnight and a chance of freezing fog in places.
"A more unsettled regime is likely to develop later on in the period, bringing spells of rain and possibly snow into many parts of the UK, especially the south and the west with strong winds in places. Temperatures are likely to turn less cold through the remainder of this period."
However, looking ahead to January, we could see some snow as "conditions may be widely changeable". Temperatures are "staying colder than average towards the end of December and start of January".
What do we need for snow to fall in the UK?
According to the Met Office, it is a myth that it needs to be below zero to snow. In fact, the heaviest snowfalls tend to occur when the air temperature is between zero and 2 °C.
Snow is formed when temperatures are low and there is moisture in the atmosphere in the form of tiny ice crystals. On average, despite a "white Christmas" being what many hope for, we are actually more likely to see snow between January and March than in December.
The last widespread "white Christmas" in the UK was in 2010 which the Met Office says was "extremely unusual", with the highest number of stations reporting snow on the ground.
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