White Christmas off the cards as wet and mild weather takes hold

Published on Thursday 22 December 2011 13:49

Those hoping for a white Christmas in Scotland will have to put up with a wet and warm one instead, forecasters said today.

Temperatures could reach as high as 14C (57C) on Christmas Day, not far short of the UK December 25 record of 15.6C (60F) set in 1896 in Leith of all places.

But the mildness will be accompanied by rain that could be heavy in parts of western Scotland.

Following two snowy, extremely cold Decembers, the festive season started today with temperatures as high as 12C (54F).

But tomorrow it will be cooler and showery across Scotland.

Rain will continue in northern parts of the country on Christmas Eve, with a high of 14C on Christmas Day likely to be reached in Scotland.

However there is a warning of wet and windy conditions, with gusts of up to 60mph.

On Boxing Day Scotland will have more rain.

“This is likely to be one of the warmer Christmases,” said Rachel Vince, a forecaster for MeteoGroup UK.

She went on: “It’s certainly going to be very mild, although there’s going to be quite a lot of rain in places.”

As chances of a white Christmas look slim, the betting world is focusing on whether it would be the UK’s hottest Christmas.

Joe Crilly, a spokesman for William Hill bookmakers, said the odds for a white Christmas have drifted to the longest price in decades.

“A couple of weeks ago it was 15 to eight in parts of the UK but now it’s 16 to one in 20 different cities in England,” Mr Crilly said.

“Up until a few weeks ago we have been taking quite a few bets but it is down this year because it looks unlikely to snow.”

He said attention was now on whether it would be the UK’s hottest Christmas with odds set at three to one.

Comments

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Hector the Lessor

Friday, December 23, 2011 at 05:46 AM

Well every odd Christmas we used to have roses blooming in our garden, and that was before global warming.

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fourbyfour

Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 09:42 PM

Oh my God! It's catastrophic global warming....

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6

Alternative (High Octane) Fuel Head

Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 07:51 PM

...And only a matter of weeks ago, they were saying that Scotland would be in the grip of a big freeze, with high winds, snow and ice. It's hardly surprising that I refuse to believe all the cr@p about what the climate is going to be like in 40 years time when they can't even predict what the weather is going to be like in a few weeks time with any degree of accuracy. All this rubbish about climate change means about as much as it meant in 1962 when they said that another ice age was on the way. And as for any of it being caused by man... I mean... Really???

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5

Simonsaid

Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 07:03 PM

Alex Salmond promised us snow - another one of his promises he's reaged on.

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4

Exiled Leither

Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 06:48 PM

Hot and wet! Nice if your with a lady, aint no good if your in the jungle!

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3

ELDee

Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 06:24 PM

#2, you are going to the bad fire for that one

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2

Bamboozler

Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 04:41 PM

So does my wife's christmas present, it's a hover!

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1

Deleted

Thursday, December 22, 2011 at 03:12 PM

I've cancelled christmas anyway cos it sucks!

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