Christmas

National Meteorological Library and Archive

Fact sheet 5 White Christmas
(version 01)

The National Meteorological Library and Archive

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Are you dreaming of a White Christmas?

Snow at Christmas is deep-seated in British culture. Many of us long for the likes of the scenes depicted on
traditional Christmas cards and in works like Dickens A Christmas Carol or Pickwick Papers.
The interest in snowy Christmases has its origins in the colder climate of the period 15501850 when
Britain was in the grip of a Little Ice Age. Winters were particularly persistent and severe 1813/14 was
the last winter that a frost fair was held on the River Thames in London.

For most parts of the United Kingdom, Christmas comes at the beginning of the season for snow.
Wintry weather is more likely in the deepening cold of early January. White Christmases were more
frequent in the 18th and 19th centuries, even more so before the change of calendar in 1752 which
effectively brought Christmas day back by 12 days.

What is a White Christmas?

For many people, a White Christmas means a complete covering of snow, ideally falling between
midnight and midday on 25 December.
However, the definition used most widely, notably by those placing and taking bets, is for a single
snow flake (perhaps among a mixed shower of rain and snow) to be observed falling in the 24 hours
of 25 December.

Christmas weather will it or wont it snow?

The likelihood of snow depends on many factors, mainly latitude and height above sea level. Not all of
us live in the Scottish Highlands and falls of sleet or snow over low-lying areas are usually confined to
between November and April. However, there have been isolated falls as late as June.
Even if snowfalls in December are possible, there is no guarantee that snow will stick. On days when
snow is falling, the temperature of the air above the ground sometimes remains above freezing so
the snow does not settle for long.
Climate change has brought higher average temperatures over land and sea and this generally reduces
the chances of a White Christmas. However, the natural variability of the weather will not stop cold, snowy
winters happening in the future. In fact, in terms of widespread sleet/snow falling across the UK on
Christmas Day, between 1971 and 1992 there was only one year (1980), whereas in the years 1993
to 2004 there were six such occasions.

Recent White Christmases across the UK

The last time a White Christmas was recorded across the UK was 2009 (last updated November 2010).
A map showing the distribution of climate stations which reported either sleet or snow falling is shown below.

Christmas day 2009

No sleet/snow reported
Day of sleet reported
Day of snow reported

Before 2009, the last notable White Christmas across any area was 2004, which had widespread snow over
northern and western areas. A map showing the distribution of climate stations which reported
either sleet or snow falling is shown below.

Christmas day 2004

No sleet/snow reported
Day of sleet reported
Day of snow reported

1995 saw a White Christmas being recorded widely across the UK. A map showing the distribution
of climate stations which reported either sleet or snow falling is shown below.

Christmas day 1995

No sleet/snow reported
Day of sleet reported
Day of snow reported

1993 also saw a White Christmas being recorded widely across the UK. A map showing the distribution of
climate stations which reported either sleet or snow falling is shown below.

Christmas day 1993

No sleet/snow reported
Day of sleet reported
Day of snow reported

White Christmas information across the UK since 1960

White Christmas information for areas of the UK since 1960 is shown in the following table. For the
purpose of this table, a White Christmas has been indicated when sleet or snow is reported to have fallen
on 25 December at multiple official climate stations across the area (only stations with an altitude of less
than 1,000 feet have been used).
A map showing the areas in the table is shown below.

N Scotland
E Scotland

W Scotland
Northern
Ireland

NW
England

Wales

NE England

Midlands

SE England
SW England

East
Anglia

Year

Southeast and Central

Southern England

Southwest England

Midlands

East Anglia

Northwest England

Northeast
and East England

Wales

Northern Ireland

Western Scotland

Eastern Scotland

Northern Scotland

White Christmas information for areas of the UK since 1960

1960

Yes

1961

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1962

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1963

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1964

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1965

Yes

Yes

Yes

1966

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1967

1968

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1969

1970

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1971

1972

Yes

1973

1974

Yes

Yes

1975

1976

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1977

1978

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1979

Yes

Yes

Yes

1980

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1981

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1982

1983

Yes

1984

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1985

Yes

Yes

Yes

Year

Southeast and Central

Southern England

Southwest England

Midlands

East Anglia

Northwest England

Northeast
and East England

Wales

Northern Ireland

Western Scotland

Eastern Scotland

Northern Scotland

1986

Yes

Yes

1987

1988

1989

Yes

1990

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1991

Yes

1992

1993

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1994

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1995

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1996

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1997

1998

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

1999

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

2000

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

2001

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

2002

2003

2004

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

Yes

White Christmas information for capital cities across the UK since 1960
White Christmas information for capital cities of the UK since 1960 is shown in the following table.
A White Christmas has been indicated when sleet or snow is reported to have fallen on 25 December.
Year

London

Cardiff

Belfast

Edinburgh

1960

1961

1962

Yes

Yes

1963

Yes

1964

Yes

Yes

1965

1966

Yes

1967

1968

Yes

Yes

1969

1970

Yes

1971

1972

1973

1974

1975

1976

Yes

1977

1978

1979

1980

Yes

Yes

1981

1982

1983

1984

1985

1986

Yes

1987

1988

Year

London

Cardiff

Belfast

Edinburgh

1989

1990

Yes

1991

1992

1993

Yes

Yes

Yes

1994

1995

Yes

Yes

1996

Yes

Yes

1997

1998

Yes

Yes

1999

Yes

Yes

Yes

2000

Yes

2001

Yes

Yes

2002

2003

2004

Yes

Yes

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

This fact sheet has been produced by the National Meteorological Library in conjunction with the
Met Offices National Climate Information Centre.
All of the images used in this fact sheet along with many others covering all aspects of meteorology can be
obtained from the National Meteorological Library.
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Tel: 01392 884845
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Other titles in this series still available are:

Number 1 Clouds
Number 2 Thunderstorms
Number 3 Water in the atmosphere
Number 4 Climate of the British Isles
Number 6 The Beaufort Scale
Number 7 Climate of South West England
Number 8 The Shipping Forecast
Number 9 Weather extremes
Number 10 Air masses and weather fronts
Number 11 Interpreting weather charts
Number 12 National Meteorological Archive
Number 13 Upper air observation and the tephigram
Number 14 Microclimates
Number 15 Weather radar
Number 16 World climates
Number 17 Weather observations

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