Snow in Scotland: Here's when the first snow of winter 2023 is likely - and white Christmas odds

It may not (quite) be winter yet, but the first cold snap of the season is upon us and snow could be on the way.

Snow is expected to fall in Scotland this week.

Frosty mornings arrived in Scotland at the weekend, with temperatures in the village of Tyndrum falling to as low as -6.4C early on Sunday morning (November 26).

And, if the forecasters have it right, it seems we'll be needing to turn the heating up in the coming days.

So, will we see white flakes falling as the festive period starts?

Will it snow this week?

It's fairly likely that some parts of Scotland will see snow in the next few days, but it's not quite time to pop your skis on.

Met Office forecaster Greg Dewhurst says that sleet and snow could fall over higher ground on Monday afternoon (November 27). This weather will continue on Tuesday, but it's less likely that lower areas, including the central belt, will see snow.

And even where there is snow the Met Office say we are "not likely to see significant accumulation on the ground”.

What is certain is that it will be cold, with a "keen northeasterly breeze" hitting the east coast on Monday evening meaning the windchill will make it feel even "chillier than the numbers suggest". Temperatures will dip further on Tuesday, with frost expected in many areas and motorists warned aout possible icy conditions on the road.

From Wednesday the weather is then expected to become more unsettled, with wintry showers across much of Scotland.

Will there be a white Christmas?

The definition that the Met Office uses to define a white Christmas is "for one snowflake to be observed falling in the 24 hours of 25 December somewhere in the UK".

It's pretty much impossible to predict this far in advance whether it will happen, with the Met Office only able to predict with any degree of certainty five days beforehand.

Still, the bookies are already taking bets on which British airports will see snow on December 25, and it's a relatively low 2/1 that Edinburgh will enjoy the fairytale festive conditions at 2/1, with Glasgow not far behind at 5/2. The odds UK-wide mean that the odds experts reckon there's a 73 per cent chance of snow falling somewhere at some point on Christmas Day.