Dreaming of a White Christmas? Bookies slash the odds as temperatures drop

Getty

If you're dreaming of a magical Christmas day building snowmen and sledging, you could be in for a pleasant surprise - as bookies are slashing the odds for snowfall on 25th December.

Forecasters are now predicting that December will be colder than first thought, leading bookies to make changes to their odds.

At William Hill, the odds for a White Christmas in London were 8/1 just two weeks ago, and are now 6/1, as are Dublin, Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. Cardiff and Bristol are at 7/1, Glasgow and Edinburgh 4/1, Belfast and Newcastle 5/1, and Aberdeen 3/1.

Ladbrokes cut odds on a White Christmas in London from 4/1 to 3/1 today(15 November), and Edinburgh is currently the favourite for snow with odds of 5/2.

Meanwhile, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff and Manchester's odds allcurrently stand at 7/2.

Jess Bridge of Ladbrokes told the Mirror: "With just over five weeks to go an early gamble is developing and punters are already dreaming of a White Christmas."

Forecaster John Lee, of Meteogroup, said: "The perfect conditions for snow to fall would be temperatures close to freezing with a provision of moisture in the air.

"The ground temperature can be a few degrees above freezing, and the snow will still stick. But often when there's cold spells the weather has been too dry for snowfall."

Just last weekend, forecasters warned that a 'big freeze' could begin by early December - and we could be facing one of the coldest winters for more than a decade.

Dan Williams, spokesman for the Met Office, told Aol Travel that while it was just too early to predict a White Christmas, that, for December, "colder and drier than average conditions are favoured over the recent milder, and for some, wetter weather many areas have experienced this week."

The Daily Star Sunday reported that the Met Office has already briefed the Government and road chiefs to prepare for a colder than average winter.

Forecasters expect temperatures to drop significantly at the end of November, at which time ice and frost are likely to cause transport problems and there will be a significant risk of heavy snow.

We last had a late-November cold snap in 2010, which kick-started a month-long freeze and resulted in 16 inches of snow in the north and eight inches in the south.

What do you think? Are we in for a White Christmas?

Not a fan of the white stuff? Try one of these great escapes:

%VIRTUAL-Gallery-170485%



Sign up to our weekly newsletterFollow us on TwitterBecome a fan on Facebook