Get set for white Xmas
®
BRITS battled with the first signs of winter yesterday as the odds were slashed on a white Christmas.
Commuters had to dust off their ice scrapers before heading to work as temperatures plummeted to -5C.
Trick-or-treaters will tonight enjoy Halloween highs of 15C, 5C warmer than usual.
But the warm blast will be short-lived and forecasters have warned people face the coldest winter for five years.
Ladbrokes is offering 2-1 on a white Christmas in Glasgow, 3-1 at Newcastle, 5-1 for Manchester and 6-1 in London.
Flurry
Spokesperson Nicola McGeady said: “We’ve had a flurry of festive bets, triggered by the coldest night of autumn and a cold winter forecast.”
The sudden chill has been caused by bitterly cold North Pole winds.
More than 100 gritters were dispatched across parts of the North. Temperatures could fall as low as -10C this winter.
Weather Company chief meteorologist Todd Crawford said: “We expect the coldest winter in the UK since 2012-13.”
The jet stream will be forced up to the Arctic and back down into Europe, releasing colder-thannormal temperatures.
But the weather brought a surprise for Susanne Turner, 58, of Sidcup, south London, when a patch of daffodils bloomed outside her home, months ahead of their usual spring arrival.