Will there be a white Christmas in East Anglia this year? Meteorologist Chris Page has the answer

A White Christmas? Snow way...

A snowy Christmas scene is what many of us dream of when we wake up on Christmas morning and pull back the curtains.

But I hate to be the bearer of bad news as for another year in the east of England, it looks like there is no snow in the forecast.

However, some is possible in the far north of the UK over high ground.

This will "technically" make it a White Christmas.... but not the one you are dreaming of, sadly.

What do we need for snow?

The two main ingredients for snow are a cold atmosphere and some moisture.

Yes, there will be some moisture for us in the East, but the air just will not be cold enough.

Through much of this week, mild air is sitting across the UK thanks to a large area of high pressure in the Atlantic, remaining close by for Christmas.

The jet stream, which drives weather systems, is sitting across the country meaning some outbreaks of wind and rain are possible at times.

What will the weather be like on Christmas Day in the East of England?

Well, I can't promise you snow, but currently it looks like Christmas will be rather damp to start as a weather front slides southwards across the UK.

Rain in the East of England will push south by the northwesterly winds, possibly with something a little drier later.

Some bright or sunny spells are possible although this will depend on how quickly the front clears.

It will be mild at first before gradually turning colder from the northwest.

As the cold air pushes south, showers will feed in across Scotland and Northern England.

It is possible that over the higher ground (where the air will be colder) snow will fall, making it a White Christmas - but that comes down to how it is defined.

How do we define a White Christmas?

In the UK, a white Christmas is defined as a single falling snowflake being observed at any one of our observation sites during the 24-hour period on Christmas day.

When was the last White Christmas?

The last White Christmas was only last year, in 2022, when 9% of stations recorded falling snow.

Before that, both 2020 and 2021 recorded a White Christmas too, although less than 1% of stations reported snow actually lying on the ground in 2021, and just 4% in 2020.

However, most of us will remember the widespread snowfall on 25 December 2010.