Scotland set for white Christmas amid big freeze

Scotland could look like this if the predicted big freeze brings snow to the country. Picture: Lisa Ferguson

Meteorologists believe Scotland and the rest of the UK could experience its coldest winter for five years, increasing the chance of snow on December 25.

And temperatures could plummet to as low as -16C, which would be the coldest since 2010’s ‘Big Freeze’ when the mercury dipped to -21C.

The chances of a bleak winter have been increased by the news that a patch of Atlantic Ocean around 500 miles off Britain’s west coast is at its coldest since records began in the mid 1930s, which will lead to colder westerly winds hitting the UK.

Northern England and Scotland are expected to bear the brunt of the cold weather, with the Met Office predicting an increase in Atlantic storms, with warnings of gales and floods.

Last month, forecasters were warning of a ‘month of snow’ affecting parts of the UK.