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
Super typhoon near the Philippines. Gusts of up to 155 mph. . . Tuesday, 23 June 2026
WindRadar showing Typhoon MEKKHALA east of Taiwan. A clearly visible eye, surrounded by areas of extremely high wind speeds.
Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Gusts of up to 155 mph

Super typhoon near the Philippines
Frost instead of a heatwave. Winter in South America. . . Friday, 26 June 2026
Temperature map of South America showing a widespread cold air outbreak across Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and southern Brazil, with a large blue thermometer icon highlighting below-average temperatures and near-freezing conditions in parts of Argentina.
Friday, 26 June 2026

Winter in South America

Frost instead of a heatwave
50 years since historic 1976 heatwave. Three-month hot spell. . . Tuesday, 23 June 2026
Black-and-white photograph from the 1976 UK heatwave showing a crowded outdoor swimming area packed with people bathing, wading, and sitting along the water's edge during extreme summer heat.
Tuesday, 23 June 2026

Three-month hot spell

50 years since historic 1976 heatwave
All weather news
This might also interest you
Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands. Storm and rain. . . Friday, 12 December 2025
Weather graphic showing rain and wind fields over the Canary Islands and a central warning symbol.
Friday, 12 December 2025

Storm and rain

Turbulent weather in the Canary Islands
Storm Chandra makes impact. Severe gales & heavy rain. . . Tuesday, 27 January 2026
Split image showing strong winds over the UK on a forecast map and widespread rain and snow on a weather radar map.
Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Severe gales & heavy rain

Storm Chandra makes impact
New records for England and Wales. Broken again tomorrow?. . . Thursday, 25 June 2026
Temperature map of southwest Britain on 25.06 showing extreme heat across southern Wales and southwest England, with Bute Park in Cardiff highlighted at 34.2°C and Yeovilton at 36.4°C amid widespread deep red heat zones.
Thursday, 25 June 2026

Broken again tomorrow?

New records for England and Wales
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