Boxing Day snow makes up for late arrival of the white stuff
● But Lanarkshire sees seasonal snow with hour to spare
Walkers blow off the Christmas cobwebs with a Boxing Day walk up a snow-covered Arthur’s Seat in Edinburgh. Much of Scotland will be clear but chilly again today and tomorrow, with snow forecast for the north.
Scotland’s white Christmas came a day late for large swathes of the Scottish population yesterday when parts of the Central Belt and the Borders woke up to a sprinkling of Boxing Day snow.
Wintry showers in the early hours of yesterday morning gave some areas of the country a festive dusting with some parts recording a fall of five centimetres.
It was only at the Met Office’s weather station in South Lanarkshire that dreams of a white Christmas actually came true in the proper sense of the Bing Crosby song.
But it was a desperately close run thing with snow recorded with just an hour to spare before Christmas Day morphed into Boxing Day.
According to the Met Office’s official records, the South Lanarkshire station detected some snowfall at 11 pm on Christmas Day, which elsewhere had been marred by persistent rain.
“It was right at the witching hour,” said Matt Roe, duty forecaster at the Met Office’s Aberdeen operation.
“The Met Office’s automatic weather station down in South Lanarkshire recorded some snow falling at 11 pm. That was the only official Met Office station in Scotland to record snow, although there may have been some elsewhere – perhaps on the higher ground in the Highlands.”
South of the Border, the Met Office confirmed snowfall at Spadeadam, Cumbria, an hour earlier than the South Lanarkshire shower. For years, Christmas was declared “white” if a single flake of snow was observed by a professional meteorologist falling on the roof of the London Weather Centre.
The Met Office has now broadened its definition to extend to other parts of the country, although the snow still has to be recorded by a professional.
Mr Roe said it was likely Boxing Day snow would have also fallen on high grounds in the Highlands, but the most plenwith
MATT ROE
tiful shower recorded was in South Lanarkshire, where there had been a depth of five centimetres.
More wintry showers are expected over the next few days, with the chance of up to 10cm of snow on the highest ground in Scotland.
The last officially white Christmas was recorded in 2014, when parts of the Northern Isles had some snowfall.
As temperatures dropped a yellow “Be Aware” warning for snow and ice was issued by the Met Office over Christmas Day and Boxing Day. Today the Central Belt and southern Scotland is expected to be dry, cold and sunny.
Snow is expected to fall in the North-west Highlands and Grampians.
As the week draws to a close, there will be the chance of snow with the Southern Uplands and southern Highlands expected to be hit by Friday.
Apart from a few snow showers in northern Scotland and northern-west Wales, tonight is expected to be a clear night little in the way of cloud cover and as temperatures drop this could lead to some overnight frosts in places. There will be a moderate north-westerly wind.
The outlook for the UK as a whole tomorrow is that it will be mostly dry and bright, but staying rather chilly. Friday will be a much wetter and windier day, bringing rain for much of the country. This could turn to snow in the northern parts of Scotland.
“It was right at the witching hour... The Met Office’s automatic weather station down in South Lanarkshire recorded some snow falling at 11 pm”
Met Office