Met Office Christmas snow verdict revealed for the primary time as chaos anticipated

The UK might be in for a white Christmas as the Met Office has released its early predictions for holiday weather, hinting at “a risk of some snow”. This follows Storm Bert over the weekend, which bought an unusually cold spell over the past week with freezing temperatures, wind, rain and even snowfall leading up to more severe conditions.

Although weather warnings from the Met Office are currently limited to Scotland, they are expected to continue into Monday as Bert leaves. As winter officially kicks in, there’s the possibility of snow this Christmas, with the Met Office suggesting snowy conditions could “dominate towards the middle of December”.

The Met Office’s forecast for the period between December 9 and December 23 reads: “The start of this period looks like being largely settled, with high pressure close to if not over the UK.

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“However, as we move further into December there are signs that it will become less settled with west or northwesterly types preferred. These will bring some wetter and windier interludes with a risk of some snow, especially for hills in the north. These conditions look more likely to dominate towards the middle of December. Temperatures generally close to average through the period.”

Before the chill of December sets in, Brits are currently grappling with more immediate weather woes, courtesy of Storm Bert. The Met Office has kept its yellow wind warning for Scotland’s west coast active until 10am today (Monday).

According to the Met Office, the remnants of Bert are set to unleash near-gale-force winds of up to 70mph, causing potential headaches for those in exposed regions. The warning from the agency is stark: “As Storm Bert moves east across the north of Scotland, a further spell of very strong winds will move east to affect parts of western, central and northern Scotland,” reports the Mirror.

They’ve forecasted gusts hitting 50 to 60mph, with the possibility of reaching a whopping 70mph along western coasts and on exposed bridges.

Locals have been braced for transport delays particularly on coastal routes and there’s even talk of “short term loss of power”. Looking ahead, the Met’s long-range forecast, spanning December 4 to December 18, suggests a frosty run-up to Christmas, stating: “The start of this period looks like being largely settled, with high pressure close to if not over the UK. However, there is also a chance of more changeable weather patterns, which would see Atlantic weather systems periodically move across the country.

“These will bring some wetter and windier interludes with a risk of some snow, especially for hills in the north. These conditions look more likely to dominate towards the middle of December. Temperatures generally close to average through the period.”

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