The odds of the UK experiencing a white Christmas this year have been slashed. Coral now makes it as short as 1-3 - from 4-5 - for snow to fall on any major city in the UK on Christmas Day.
It comes as parts of the UK look set to be hit by further snow and ice on Tuesday - with the potential for the country to experience the coldest night of the year for a second day running. The Met Office has issued a yellow snow and ice warning covering northern Scotland and north-east England from midnight on Tuesday until noon on Thursday.
There is also an ice warning covering much of the South East, including London and Brighton from 9am on Monday until 11am on Tuesday.
Coral's John Hill said: "We are less than two weeks away from Christmas Day now and with heavy snowfall over the weekend in some parts of the UK, the prospects of a White Christmas are increasing all the time. We now make it as short as 1/3 in our betting, that's a probably of 75%."
Met Office spokesman Oli Claydon said there could be “as much as 15 to 20 centimetres of snow accumulating over high ground” in some places on Tuesday.
Mr Claydon said northern Scotland could record even colder temperatures on Tuesday after breaking the record for the coldest night of the year on Monday. He urged commuters across the UK to “leave a little bit more time” if driving and to travel with “a bit of extra caution”.
Drivers faced travel chaos on Monday morning as large parts of the UK were hit by ice, fog and snow. Rod Dennis from the RAC said their teams were “exceptionally busy” on Monday, helping more than 7,500 motorists with breakdowns.
Monday was the coldest night of the year so far, with temperatures in northern Scotland dipping below minus 15C. The Met Office said the lowest temperature recorded was minus 15.6C at Braemer in Aberdeenshire.
