Home
Weather London
WeatherRadar
RainfallRadar
TemperatureRadar
WindRadar
LightningRadar
Weather News
Editor's Pick
Discover the app
Weather widget
Contact us
Apps
Career
    Home / Editor's Pick /

    Unlikely this year - Defining a White Christmas

09:00
24 December 2025

Unlikely this year
Defining a White Christmas

Group of adults and children walking and playing on a snowy field, one child riding a red sled being pulled, others walking with a small dog, with winter hills and trees in the background.
2020 saw a white Christmas, however, only 4% of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. - © picture alliance

It's almost Christmas Day, and there's always talk of whether snow will fall or not, but what defines a true White Christmas?

In the UK, the definition of a White Christmas was set by the Met Office. It used to be that a snowflake had to fall on the Met Office's building in London, but today it's if just one snowflake falls somewhere.

In Ireland, Met Éireann similarly state that a White Christmas is defined by the measure of any quantity of snow falling anytime over Christmas Day. The last Irish white Christmas was in 2010, with a spectacular 27 cm of snow.

This year, the outlook is not positive, at least not if you were hoping for snow. Instead, skies clear for a sunny, if chilly, Christmas.

Some small light showers in Scotland could turn snowy, but in terms of a real, widespread White Christmas, there's no good news.

Ryan Hathaway
More on the topic
A marked change in the weather. Cold front heading south. . . Monday, 7 September 2026
Map of Europe showing a cold front stretching from Scandinavia to Spain. Thunderstorms are shown in southern and central Europe.
Monday, 7 September 2026

Cold front heading south

A marked change in the weather
Autumn arrives with vivid colour. Your weather - Your shots. . . Sunday, 6 September 2026
Split image showing peach-lit textured clouds above silhouetted trees and golden cumulus clouds reflected in a calm canal lined with boats.
Sunday, 6 September 2026

Your weather - Your shots

Autumn arrives with vivid colour
Cheshire Gap produces shower funnel. Local phenomenon. . . Wednesday, 9 September 2026
Weather map showing showers moving southeast from Liverpool toward Birmingham, driven by Cheshire Gap convergence across central England.
Wednesday, 9 September 2026

Local phenomenon

Cheshire Gap produces shower funnel
All weather news
This might also interest you
Bright and warm conditions take hold. Spring-like outlook. . . Thursday, 23 April 2026
Split UK map showing warm temperatures up to 21 degrees in orange on the left and clear sunny conditions with temperatures from 12 to 18 degrees on the right, with sun icons across the country.
Thursday, 23 April 2026

Spring-like outlook

Bright and warm conditions take hold
Long-term trends need a pinch of salt. 40 °C in July?. . . Tuesday, 30 June 2026
Temperature radar of 2022 heatwave where the all-time temperature record in the UK was set. Warning symbol overlain.
Tuesday, 30 June 2026

40 °C in July?

Long-term trends need a pinch of salt
Historic Storm Éowyn arrives. On this day.... . . Saturday, 24 January 2026
Split image showing a person in a yellow jacket struggling against strong winds and heavy rain on a street at night on the left, and an Irish wind forecast map on the right with red and purple shading, gusts up to 75 mph, and a wind warning icon, divided by a curved white line.
Saturday, 24 January 2026

On this day...

Historic Storm Éowyn arrives
All articles
Weather & Radar

Weather & Radar is also available on

Google Play StoreApp Store

Company

Contact us Privacy Policy Legal info Accessibility statement

Services

Uploader

Socials

facebooktwittertikToklinkList