Whether or not it becomes the coldest ever festive period, bookies are beginning to take bets on the chances we will have a white Christmas in the UK.
With just a single snowflake required to make the dream a reality, there is a good chance of this happening – despite the climatic necessities for snow to fall.
But, while Brits might be dreaming of a white Christmas, it is more unusual for anyone to crave a cold one.
Weather warnings have now passed off the back of Storm Ciarán, which brought heavy rain and flooding to parts of the UK last week. The rest of the week beginning November 6 is set to be mild in London by UK averages.
And despite 2022 being the hottest year on record, according to the Met Office, December in London is expected to have typical highs of 7C and lows of 3C.
But what could this mean for Christmas?
What is the coldest Christmas Day on record in the UK?
Gainford in Durham holds the record for the coldest ever temperature recorded on Christmas Day in the UK at a freezing -18.3°C in 1878. This is even lower than the Scottish record of -18.2°C, recorded in Altnaharra, Sutherland, much more recently in 2010. That same year the Welsh record was set with a relatively balmy -16.5°C in Llysdinam, Powys. The Northern Ireland record is -17.5°C at Katesbridge, also set in 2010.
What is the coldest day on record in the UK?
Unsurprisingly, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the UK was in Scotland, with -27.2C recorded twice.
The freeze was coldest in Braemar on January 10, 1982 and then Altnaharra matched it on December 30, 1995.
In England Shawbury reached -25C in 1981.
What is the coldest day on record in the world?
What has been felt in the UK is nothing compared with the -89C that Vostok, Antarctica reached on July 21, 1983.
What are the chances of snow on December 25?
Bookies have odds of 2/1 for a white Christmas for the UK, as just a single flake needs to fall for it to be declared. However, for any meaningful snow to fall and stick around, it needs to be below freezing.
The ground temperature needs to be below two degrees for the snow to fall and lie and the air temperature needs to be below freezing or the snow will melt as it is falling and turn into sleet.
It will rain if the air temperature is above 5C.
The odds of London reaching this state are a reported 20/1.
