As the dreary and dark nights get longer, many of us are dreaming of a magical white Christmas to lift our spirits.
But what are the chances of a picture perfect blanket of snow on the ground on Christmas Day 2021?
Pretty high, according to Ladbrokes, who say the odds of a white Christmas in Dundee this year are 3/1.
There is a slightly higher chance of snow in Angus and it looks like there is still a good chance snow will fall in nearby areas.
Odds of a white Christmas are currently rated by Ladbrokes as:
- Angus 5/2
- Dundee 3/1
- Fife 7/2
- Perth 7/2
Weather records, as by measured by the Met Office, show there has not been actual snowfall in Dundee on December 25 since 2004.
However there was snow with a depth of 6cm on the ground on Christmas Day in 2010 and in 2009.
A rare occasion
Bernardo Rodriguez-Salcedo, of The James Hutton Institute, in Dundee, which measures the weather locally, says there have only ever been six occasions where snow fell in the city on December 25 – since their records began in 1954.
Snowfall in recent years in Dundee has mainly started after the festive period.
Bernardo said: “In 2017 there were eight days with snow – January 13-15 and February 7-11.
“In 2018 we had six consecutive days of snow in January 17-22; then eight days in February 5-6 and 21-28; then another ten days in March 1-8 and 16-18; and three days in April 1-3.
“2019 only had two days with snow January and 30th; and 2020 also only had two days with snow December 3 and February 10.”
We have already had 16 occurrences of snow in Dundee so far in 2021 – January saw four days of snow, February had 11, there was one on April 11 and a day with hail on April 15.
What makes an official white Christmas?
Christmas can be white in a specific location if at least one solitary snowflake falls during the 24 hours of Christmas day, according to the Met Office.
Offices in London were traditionally used to define a white Christmas however a number of locations have been added to that, including Aberdeen, Edinburgh and local observing stations.
The last widespread white Christmas in the UK was in 2010. There snow on the ground at 83% of Met Office stations (the highest amount ever recorded) and snow or sleet also fell at 19% of stations.
And there was a white Christmas in 2009, when 57% stations reported snow lying on the ground and 13% recorded snow or sleet falling.
