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When was our last white Christmas?

08:01
24 December 2022

Christmas forecast
When was our last white Christmas?

2020 was a white Christmas, however, only 4% of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. Hexham, Northumberland.2020 was a white Christmas, however, only 4% of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. Hexham, Northumberland. - © picture alliance

A white Christmas is defined as one snowflake observed falling somewhere in the UK within the 24 hours of Christmas, but when did we last have one?

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 27cm of snow.

Meanwhile in the UK, 2021 was the last white Christmas with 6% of stations recording snow falling, but less than 1% of stations reported any snow lying on the ground. The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was also in 2010.

So will we have a white Christmas this year? Keep tabs on the WeatherRadar to see if you can find any hints of pink on there!

Weather & Radar editorial team
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