The temperature is dropping, the festive season is fast approaching, and although Christmas is set to be very different amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, there’s still one question on everybody’s lips.
Will it be a white Christmas this year?
For many of us, snow is synonymous with Christmas time and the phenomenon of a white Christmas is something that has been obsessed over for decades. We all know Bing Crosby famously dreamt of it, and it’s not uncommon to see movie/TV scenes, advent calendars and greetings cards all decorated with snow-filled landscapes of a white Christmas.
For most parts of the UK though, Christmas is only at the beginning of the period when it’s likely to snow.
Snow or sleet falls an average 3.9 days in December, compared to 5.3 days in January, 5.6 days in February, and 4.2 days in March.
According to the Met Office, White Christmases were actually more frequent back in the in the 18th and 19th centuries before before the change of calendar in 1752, and with taking climate change into consideration nowadays, we are actually more likely to see snow between January and March than in December.
But when can we expect the first flakes to fall here in the UK this year? And what exactly are the odds of snow arriving on Christmas day?
Here’s everything we know so far.
___
What is a white Christmas?
When most of us think of a white Christmas, we picture blankets of snow covering landscapes for miles around, right? Well according to the Met Office though, a Christmas can in fact be white if at least one solitary snowflake falls in a specific location during the 24 hours of Christmas day.
That’s it.
Traditionally, the Met Office would use its building in London to decide whether it had been a white Christmas.
However as the concept and popularity of betting has increased over the years, several other locations were added to the list, and these include:
Buckingham Palace
Belfast (Aldergrove Airport)
Aberdeen (Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen FC)
Edinburgh (Castle)
Coronation Street in Manchester
The Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.
Unsplash
When was the last white Christmas in the UK?
According to Met Office figures, the last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010, when 83% of weather stations recorded snow on the ground, and there was also a significant snowfall in 2009 when 13% of stations recorded snow or sleet falling, and 57% reported snow lying on the ground.
Although technically, the last white Christmas was on Christmas Day in 2015.
A total of 10% of weather stations recorded snowfall, but none of it actually settled on the ground to create the classic snowy scene we’ve all come to know, and this was also the case in 2016, when 6% of stations recorded falling snow, and in 2015, when 10% of stations saw snow.
Perthshire in Scotland currently holds the record for the deepest snow figure, seeing 47cm of snow on 25th December 1981.
How likely is a white Christmas?
Although it’s actually quite hard to predict at this point, the Met Office say a snowflake has fallen somewhere in the UK on Christmas Day on 38 occasions in the last 54 years.
This means a Christmas is likely to be white at least every other year, on average.
Widespread snow is much rarer though, as there has only been a widespread covering of snow on the ground recorded at 40% of weather stations in the UK four times in the last 51 years, and forecasters won’t be able to predict an accurate forecast for Christmas Day until around five days beforehand.
So the jury’s still out for snow in Manchester this year.
Unsplash
What are the latest odds?
Regardless of the difficulty of early predictions, that hasn’t stopped the bookies from chiming in.
Those with their eyes on the prize may have seen that Ladbrokes’ has just shortened its odds for snow to fall anywhere in the UK on December 25 to 5/4 – down from 6/4 earlier this month, with Alex Apati – spokesperson for Ladbrokes – saying: “Punters dreaming of a white Christmas look destined to get their wish later this year as we strap ourselves in for a record-breaking cold winter ahead.”
Paddy Power seems to agree too, with its spokesperson Amy Jones admitting: “In the words of Game of Thrones, winter is coming and it seems we may be adding to the craziness of 2020 with snow at Christmas.”
And Coral have claimed that Edinburgh and Newcastle are the cities with the best odds and are most likely to see snow at Christmas with odds of 3-1, and spokesperson Harry Aitkenhead revealing: “Autumn’s been mild but winter looks wild. We have enjoyed a mild autumn but winter is going to arrive with some freezing temperatures.
“We have slashed the odds to just evens [and] that it is our coldest on record.”
You can find more information via the Met Office website here.
Trending
Everton are reportedly already hoping to sign Jack Grealish from Manchester City permanently
Danny Jones
Everton FC are reportedly already considering signing Jack Grealish on a permanent deal after an impressive start to his spell on loan from Manchester City.
The former Aston Villa talisman has struggled to remain in the starting XI under Pep Guardiola since joining the club in 2021, but since arriving on Merseyside, he’s already been a difference-maker in every match for the Toffees thus far.
Grealish has not only registered four assists in just two starts for Everton but also won the very first player of the month award in the Premier League this season for his contributions.
Safe to say he’s fast made a big impact over in Liverpool – hence why it is now thought that manager David Moyes wants to make his transfer permanent.
Becoming just the 10th Toffee to ever win the accolade, the Birmingham-born creator is now thought to be the primary transfer target, despite the summer window having only recently closed.
He writes that despite the deal between Everton and Man City already including a £50 million option to buy next summer, that number is “not fixed and is more a consequence of accounting than a set price.”
The England international still has two years on his contract in the blue half of Manchester, but the previous valuation (which is half the amount City paid for him in a then record fee for a British player), so it is believed that he could be signed for an even better cut-price offer as his deal runs down.
Put it this way, it looks like the supporters would do just about anything to keep him at the Hill Dickinson.
Jack Grealish giving his shirt to an Everton fan after their brilliant win away at Wolves today.
Bascombe goes on to explain, however, that his salary considerations could be a significant obstacle. Grealish is estimated to be earning approximately £12m a year, which is almost certainly too rich for Everton’s blood.
Taking that into account, it’d be a case of whether or not the Brummy forward would be willing to accept a much lower wage to depart the Etihad Stadium for Everton long-term; alternatively, waiting for him to become a free agent in a few transfer windows’ time would also be an option.
What about you, Blues: would you like to see Jack Grealish stay and fight for his place under Guardiola, or would you understand/support him making his Everton permanent?
Interestingly, there could be yet more shuffling of the pack in the middle of the park for Pep, as a forgotten man is apparently going to be given another chance to revive his City career…
Kalvin Phillips is reportedly set to be reintegrated into the Manchester City squad
Danny Jones
Long-exiled Manchester City player Kalvin Phillips is reportedly on the verge of being reintegrated into Pep Guardiola’s squad this season.
The ex-Leeds United star, who signed for the Blues back in 2022, has still only made just 16 appearances for the club, but could now be eyeing up a potential renaissance.
Man City have made plenty of signings this year, but with a number of outgoings and several injuries in key positions, it looks like there could be an avenue for the one-time England international to fight his way back into the team.
As per Telegraph Sport‘s Mike McGrath, Kalvin Phillips is set to be reintroduced to City’s 25-man Premier League selection; the question is, can he make it into a first-team XI?
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Kalvin Phillips has chance to resurrect career at the Etihad Stadium after failed loan spells with Ipswich and West Ham
According to McGrath, Phillips will be “given a chance to resurrect his career at the Etihad Stadium” with the meat and potatoes of the 2025/26 campaign still yet to get properly underway.
Now 29, the Yorkshireman is well and truly within the crucial ‘prime’ years as an athlete, and after such an extended period on the sidelines, he’ll be more motivated than anyone to get his career back on track.
The central defensive midfielder – who was formerly considered a key cog in the middle of the park for Leeds – has spent two loan spells away from the Etihad, but neither really worked out for the undeniably talented footballer.
Having joined West Ham for the latter portion of the 23/24 term and spending the last 12 months on loan at struggling Ipswich Town, his time at both clubs was pretty forgettable, punctuated by little more than a couple of unfortunate red cards and more time on the bench.
Speaking to Sky Sports fairly recently, he confessed that the last couple of years have been very difficult and was visibly emotional discussing his struggles since moving to Man City.
It’s also worth noting that Guardiola himself has admitted to feeling “so bad” for Kalvin Phillips’ situation – perhaps why he now looks like he could be given a second chance.
CDM-wise, Rodri and Nico González are considered the go-to options, but Stockport-born Rico Lewis and Mateo Kovačić have also been used in the role.
Once again, although Man City face somewhat of an injury crisis ahead of the Manchester derby this weekend, any prolonged absences could at least see an opportunity arise for the forgotten man.
What do you make of Kalvin Phillips’ chances of being restored to the Manchester City squad and maybe even putting himself back into national team contention ahead of the World Cup?
Emily Sergeant -
25th November 2020 
