If you are dreaming of a White Christmas you may be in luck this year. The latest indications from TheWeatherOutlook are that the cold weather will continue next week, after a slightly milder weekend. The week leading up to Christmas may well bring very wintry conditions and plunging temperatures, with snow likely to affect parts of the country again. Temperatures could fall below -10C quite widely, with parts of Scotland and northern England possibly recording values as low as -20C. Favoured areas for snow look likely to be Scotland, eastern England, and south eastern England with significant accumulations expected. However, anywhere may see some snow showers, and later on more persistent snow may develop in Ireland and western parts as weather fronts try to push east.
Brian Gaze, of TheWeatherOutlook, said: "The prospects for a White Christmas seem much better than usual at the moment, although it's still too early to be confident about the details of how things will develop. The current cold weather pattern looks to be locked in for some time to come, and although there will be milder interludes, I'm expecting the week leading up to Christmas Day to be wintry across Britain, with snow in places. It’s very unusual to have such an intense and long lasting cold spell, especially this early in the winter. The cause of it is a repeating tendency for high pressure to build to the north of Britain. This blocks the flow of mild weather from the west and instead allows bitterly cold air from the arctic or Siberia to sweep across Britain and most of western Europe. By Christmas Day it may be becoming more unsettled, but still cold, and this would increase the chances of snow, although as we head towards the New Year I wouldn't be surprised to see it turn less cold, at least for a while."
Issued 8th December 2010
TheWeatherOutlook
http://www.theweatheroutlook.com