Scotland's weather: Will festive snow deliver a white Christmas?

Scotland may already have had a taste of snow earlier this month, but as we get closer to Christmas the Met Office is already looking ahead to the festive season to see if we’ll have a white Christmas.

Will it snow this Christmas?

The longterm forecasts offer a sneak peak at the conditions we can expect, but as it draws nearer the predictions can change slightly.

What can we look forward to?

Between Friday, December 17 and Sunday 27 the Met Office is predicting an initial round of wind and rain in the week running up to Christmas.

The Met office says: “Largely settled during Thursday but unsettled conditions quick to return into Friday 17th.

"With heavy spells of rain clearing to a mixture of blustery showers and brighter spells.

"Unsettled conditions set to continue with showers likely heaviest in the west, whilst areas further east experiencing drier spells.

"Mild and windy across the UK, with coastal gales. Towards the end of the period, there is a greater chance of more settled conditions, mainly in the north and east, accompanied by increasing incidence of frost and fog.”

But what about the Christmas weekend?

Here’s where it gets interesting. The Met Office is predicting colder temperatures with a chance of snow even at lower levels.

"Rain or showers becoming less frequent and tending to become focused across southern and western parts. Wintriness most likely confined to higher ground, but there remains a chance of snow temporarily to low levels. Temperatures mild at first, probably slowly trending downwards through the period.”

So is it too soon to get our snow shovels ready?

The situation should become clearer in the next few days.