Hopes fading fast for a white Christmas 2014

Hopes are fading of a picture-book White Christmas as forecasters predict cold weather and showers but little chance of snow for most of the UK.

The hillsides of Scotland and north east England may see a dusting of snow on December 25, but most people be contending with icy temperatures and rain.

The last White Christmas in the UK was in 2010, but Emma Corrigan, a meteorologist at the Met Office, warned not to expect widespread snow this year.

“It will be a fairly cold, windy day for most people”, she said.

“There will be some patchy frost across the northwest and Scotland, reaching -4 at the start of the day.”

She said northern UK, especially coastal areas, is likely to suffer intermittent showers throughout the day, and some could turn to sleet and snow in the freezing temperatures.

“Most will fall as rain but there is a chance we could see some wintry showers on the hills of Scotland and perhaps down into northern England as well”, she said.

“It would be frozen sleet or snow, mostly on the hills.”

While definitions differ on what classes as a White Christmas, the Met Office takes readings from its stations across the country to measure how much snow has fallen and whether it is staying on the ground or melting.

Snow has fallen in some parts of the country on 38 of the last 52 Christmas Days, and more than 200 weather stations across the UK will sent in their reports this year.

Ms Corrigan said although there could be snow this year, it may not fall where the Met Office has its weather stations.

“It’s going to be all scattered showers, and sleet and snow, but most likely across the hills where there are not that many stations”, she said.

And she warned motorists preparing for the festive getaway to be wary of heavy rainfall throughout the day on Christmas Eve.

“We will see rain across Northern Ireland moving erratically’, she said.

“It will move from the north to the southeast, with some parts starting dry and getting rain, while others will have rain then dry out later in the day.”

Forecasters say the weekend after Christmas could be a stormy one, with more chance of snow, but again that will be focused on the hills.

The chances of a White Christmas occurring in London is now quoted at its biggest price in recent years with Ladbrokes.

Unfortunately for punters who are still dreaming of a White Christmas the bookies have been left with no choice but to lengthen the odds once again, and it's now a 12/1 chance that Londoners see a festive flurry of snow this year.

Scottish cities Aberdeen (3/1), Edinburgh (3/1) and Glasgow (3/1) remain the most likely places to see snowflakes fall on Thursday, while it's 5/1 Belfast is given a sprinkling by Mother Nature.

The odds have also been cut to just 7/2 that the mercury soars into double-figures and surpasses the high temperature record of 15.6C as set on December 25th in 1920.